Cordyceps, Dried

Called descriptively winter-worm-summer-grass in Chinese, they are caterpillar fungi which abound in Sichuan province. Sold dried, and tied into small bunches of 6–7, they are yellowish-brown in colour, and 4–5 cm (1¾/–2 in) long. The Chinese use them as a temperate tonic to benefit the lungs and the kidney, to arrest bleeding and dispel phlegm, and believe in their efficacy for impotence and seminal emissions. Slightly bitter on their own, they are usually cooked with meat to make a tonic soup.