2 points reward! What kind of plant seed is this?

Definitely not. Go to the drugstore to see what the real Cordyceps sinensis looks like.

Cordyceps sinensis is a valuable Chinese herbal medicine, and its growth is very strange: Cordyceps fungus infects bat moth larvae, making them sick, rigid and dead. In the spring and summer of the following year, grass stems grow from the head of the larvae, so it is an insect-fungus complex.

Cordyceps sinensis looks like a silkworm body (fungus larva complex) with a grass stem (daughter seat) on its head. The grass stems are dark yellow, and the worms are reddish brown or dark brown. The length of grass stems is 2 to 8 cm. The length of the worm is 3-6 cm, the diameter is .3-.7 cm, there are dense ring lines on the surface, there are 8 pairs of feet under the body, and 4 pairs of feet in the middle are more obvious; Brittle and easy to break, with milky white or yellow-white fibrous cross section; It has the aroma of straw mushroom and shiitake mushroom; Light or slightly sweet, sticky.

Due to the low yield and high price of Cordyceps sinensis, there are many counterfeiters. Careful observation is not difficult to distinguish: the grass stem is separated from the worm, the worm has no feet or only three pairs, and the feet are densely brown and fine, hard and chewy with flour and gypsum taste, which may be fakes. Cordyceps sinensis has the effects of strengthening body constitution, prolonging life, resisting anoxia, reducing blood lipid, resisting bacteria and detoxicating, calming nerves, regulating immunity, relieving asthma and eliminating phlegm, resisting cancer, and enhancing cardiovascular, blood, liver and kidney functions. It is often used to treat senile deficiency, phlegm retention and asthma, spontaneous sweating and night sweats, impotence and nocturnal emission, soreness of waist and knees, and chronic deficiency after illness.

Cordyceps sinensis can be taken all year round, especially in winter. Usually decoct 3 to 1 grams for oral administration, or take it in pills or powder, or take it in wine, soup or porridge. No matter what method, it should be taken with residue.

cordyceps sinensis, also known as cordyceps sinensis and cordyceps sinensis, is a complex of a fungus belonging to ergot family, Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) SACC, which parasitizes on the larvae of larvae of moths and larvae. Cordyceps sinensis mainly grows in high-altitude forest meadows or lawns; Due to the soil quality, the color of Cordyceps sinensis growing in forest meadow is mainly dark yellow-brown, while that of Cordyceps sinensis growing in grassland is mainly yellow-brown. The former is mainly produced in Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu, while the latter is mainly produced in Tibet and Qinghai.

Cordyceps sinensis is a traditional precious nourishing Chinese herbal medicine, and it ranks as three major tonics alongside natural ginseng and velvet antler. It is mild, edible all year round, suitable for the old, the young, the sick, the weak and the weak, and has wider medicinal value than other kinds of tonics.

[ Edit this paragraph] Basic information

Cordyceps sinensis (Qiannang) and Cordyceps sinensis (Herbal Q&A). It is a complex of the daughter of Cordyceps sinensis, a plant of ergot family, and the larvae and corpses of its host, Cordyceps hepialidae. The ascomycete of Cordyceps sinensis comes from the head of the host larva, which is solitary, slender like a baseball bat and 3 ~ 11 cm long. The sterile stalk is 3 ~ 8 cm long and 1.5 ~ 4 mm in diameter; The upper part is the head of the daughter seat, slightly enlarged, cylindrical, 1.5 ~ 4 cm long, brown, and densely packed with many ascomycetes except the apex; Most of the ascomycetes are trapped in the sub-seat, with the apex protruding out of the sub-seat, oval or elliptical, with a length of 25-5 microns and a diameter of 8-2 microns. There are many long linear ascomycetes in each ascomycete. There are 8 ascospores with septa in each ascocarp. The host is the larva of LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA and other insects. In winter, hyphae invade the larvae living in the soil, so that the worms are full of hyphae and die. Daughters grow in summer. Distributed in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet and other places. Before and after the summer solstice, when the snow has not melted, it is collected in the mountains. At this time, the seeds are mostly exposed on the snow surface. If it is too late, the snow melts, weeds grow, and it is difficult to find, and the insects in the soil wither and are not suitable for medicine. After digging, when the worm is wet, remove the outer soil and membrane skin and dry it in the sun. Or spray with yellow wine to soften it, straighten it, and tie every 7 ~ 8 pieces into small sticks with red lines; Dry with low heat. Cordyceps sinensis is formed by connecting the insect body with the fungus base, with a total length of 9 ~ 12 cm. Insects, such as three-sleeping old silkworms, are about 3 ~ 6 cm long and .4 ~ .7 cm thick. The appearance is dark yellow and rough, with most horizontal wrinkles on the back and 8 pairs on the ventral surface, and 4 pairs in the middle of the worm are obvious. The cross section is full of heart, white, slightly yellow and dark yellow around. The fungus seat comes from the head of the worm, which is rod-shaped, curved and slightly enlarged at the upper part. The surface is grayish brown or dark brown, with a length of 4 ~ 8 cm and a diameter of about .3 cm. When broken, the heart is empty and pink. It stinks slightly and has a light taste. It is better to have Huang Liang body color, plump and hypertrophy, yellow and white cross section and short fungus seat. It mainly produces Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan and Guizhou, and the yield of Cordyceps sinensis in Qinghai Tibetan Caotang is the largest. In addition, Tibet, Sichuan and other places are also produced.

[ Edit this paragraph] Plant morphology

There are 2-4 solitary daughters, which are born from the head of the host, with a length of 4-11 cm and a diameter of 1.5-4 mm at the base, tapering upward, and the head expands into a nearly cylindrical shape, brown, with a length of 1-4.5 cm and a diameter of 2.5-6 mm. The ascocarp is near the surface, and the base is slightly trapped in the stroma, oval to oval. Born in alpine meadow soil at an altitude of 3～4m m. Location: Sichuan and Yunnan. From June to July, the ascospores are unearthed, and collected when they are not divergent, dried in the sun or dried at low temperature. The worm is silkworm-like, 3 ~ 5 cm long and 3 ~ 8 mm in diameter; The head is reddish brown and has a daughter seat; The chest and abdomen are dark yellow to yellowish brown, with 3 thoracic segments, 3 pairs of chest and feet, 1 abdominal segments, 5 pairs of abdomen and feet, and 4 pairs in the middle. There are 2 ~ 3 links on the surface; Crispy, light yellow section. The pedestal is slender and cylindrical, slightly twisted, 3 ~ 7 (11) cm long, 1.5 ~ 4 mm in diameter, with grayish brown to brownish brown surface, fine longitudinal wrinkles and slightly enlarged head. The texture is flexible, and the cross section is white and fibrous. The smell is slightly fishy and the taste is slightly bitter. It contains crude protein, various amino acids, D- mannitol, namely "cordycepin", 3'-deoxy-deoxy-cephalosporin, ergosterol, galactomannan, uracil, adenine, etc. Gan, Ping. Enter the lung and kidney meridians. Tonify deficiency, tonify essence and qi, tonify kidney, strengthen yang, tonify lung, relieve asthma, relieve cough and eliminate phlegm. It can be used for treating phlegm retention, asthma, cough, hemoptysis, spontaneous sweating, night sweats, impotence, nocturnal emission, soreness of waist and knees, and chronic deficiency after illness. 1. Used for kidney deficiency, lumbago, impotence and nocturnal emission. It has the effect of tonifying kidney, supporting yang and benefiting essence. It can be used alone or in combination with Herba Epimedii, Radix Morindae Officinalis and Semen Cuscutae. 2. Used for chronic cough, asthma, cough and phlegm due to lung deficiency or lung and kidney deficiency. It can tonify lung and kidney, calm down asthma and cough, stop bleeding and resolve phlegm. For cough and phlegm blood, it is often combined with Radix Glehniae, Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae and Colla Corii Asini. For asthma, cough and shortness of breath, it is often used with ginseng, walnut meat and gecko. In addition, after illness, physical weakness disappears, sweating and chills can be stewed with ducks, chickens, pork, etc., which has the effect of tonifying deficiency and helping the weak.

[ Edit this paragraph] General classification

Authentic Cordyceps sinensis can be divided into two types according to their growing environment, namely, grassland Cordyceps sinensis in plateau meadow and alpine Cordyceps sinensis in Yinshan Canyon at high altitude. Due to the differences in growing environment and soil quality, they are slightly different in color and shape. Grassland Cordyceps sinensis is khaki, with large insect body and soft meat. Cordyceps alpina is dark brown, full and strong. Because of the vast grassland area, it is the main producing area, and it is popular in the market. The source of alpine cordyceps is scarce, but most of them are recorded in ancient medical books. In terms of nutritional composition, the two are similar, but either one is based on natural essence, and once it is dyed or polluted, it loses its value.

[ Edit this paragraph] Growth

As for the growth of Cordyceps sinensis, most people feel mysterious about it. There was a poem in the past: "The name of Cordyceps sinensis is full of substance, and the change makes a breath." One thing can be planted at the same time, and the physics in the world is hard to be poor. " In fact, Cordyceps sinensis is a combination of insects and fungi. Insects are the larvae of Cordyceps hepialus, and fungi are Cordyceps fungi. Every summer, when the snow and ice melt on the snowy mountain meadow above 38 meters above sea level, the small hepialus will leave thousands of eggs in Qian Qian on the flowers and leaves. Then moth eggs turn into bugs, drill into wet and loose soil, absorb the nutrition of plant roots, and gradually raise their bodies white and fat. At this time, when the spherical ascospores meet the larvae of Cordyceps sinensis, they get into the worm to attract its nutrition and germinate hyphae. When the larvae of Cordyceps bat moth eat the leaves with Cordyceps fungi, they will also become Cordyceps.

The larvae infected by fungi gradually creep to a place two to three centimeters from the surface, and die from head to tail. This is the "winter bug". Although the larva is dead, the fungus in the body grows day by day until it fills the whole worm. In the late spring and early summer of next year, a purple grass grows on the worm's head, which is about two to five centimeters high and has a pineapple-shaped capsule at the top. This is "summer grass". At this time, Cordyceps sinensis is the most developed and has the highest effective components in the body, which is the best season for collection. Qinghai, Diqing and Nujiang in Yunnan Province are one of the main producing areas of Cordyceps in China.

[ Edit this paragraph] Harvest and storage

Every year, from April to May in the lunar calendar, when the snow melts, it is the harvest season of Cordyceps sinensis. At this time, the emergence of Cordyceps sinensis does not exceed one inch. If it passes this season, the seedlings will die, other weeds will grow very fast, and Cordyceps sinensis will disappear. When harvesting Cordyceps sinensis, remove the yellow wax coat and other impurities attached to the worm, and dry it in the air or in the sun. The traditional packaging method is to tie 6 ~ 8 pieces into a small bundle (boy) with small red rope.

The storage requirements of Cordyceps sinensis are not high. Generally speaking, as long as it is treated by normal drying methods in the production area and placed in a ventilated environment, it will not go bad and moldy. If it is too humid, it can be considered to be packaged in a sealed bag and stored in the refrigerator.

[ Edit this paragraph] Character identification

Cordyceps sinensis is composed of two parts: a pedestal and a worm body. The worm body is 4 ~ 6 cm long, with yellow or yellowish brown surface, dark brown color produced in Yunnan and Sichuan, and multiple horizontal wrinkles on the back. There are 8 pairs of feet in the abdomen, 3 pairs near the head, 4 pairs in the abdomen and 1 pair in the tail. Among them, 4 pairs in the abdomen are obvious, and the worm body is light and brittle. The pedestal grows from the head of the insect body and is 4 ~ 7 cm. The head of the insect body is covered by the base, which is long rod-shaped, thick on the top and thin on the bottom, grayish brown or dark brown, flexible in quality and mostly hollow in cross section. Smell with straw mushroom aroma, sweet. The daughter seat is solitary, slender and cylindrical, 4 to 7 cm long and about 3 mm in diameter; The surface is dark brown to brown, with fine longitudinal wrinkles, the upper part is slightly enlarged, the quality is flexible, and the cross section is white. The smell is slightly fishy and the taste is slightly bitter. The insect body is Huang Liang in color, plump and hypertrophy, yellow and white in section, and short in daughter.

[ Edit this paragraph] Identification of true and false

The main counterfeit products are ground silkworms, which are snail-shaped, also called spiral vegetables. There are also cordyceps sinensis in some low-altitude areas, such as Cordyceps sinensis. Although they are similar in appearance, the main difference is that their daughter seats are short, some are Gemini, and the smell of mushrooms is light. To make matters worse, gypsum powder or flour mixed with glue is pressed into a model, and its daughter is inserted with day lily. As long as it is soaked in water and pinched by hand, its true colors are revealed. Although some of them are genuine, the iron wire inserted in the worm body during processing is deliberately removed, and as a result, the iron wire is also matched. These should be fully paid attention to and guarded against. The common counterfeit cordyceps sinensis are as follows.