Cordyceps militaris vs. sinensis: What's the Difference?

Cordyceps militaris and Cordyceps sinensis are two different fungi, not two grades of the same one. The wild caterpillar fungus long called Cordyceps sinensis, now named Ophiocordyceps sinensis, grows only on ghost moth larvae on the Tibetan Plateau and is scarce. Cordyceps militaris is the reference species of the true Cordyceps genus, and it forms fruiting bodies readily in cultivation.

Why is Cordyceps sinensis now called Ophiocordyceps sinensis?

A 2007 study comparing several genes split the old genus Cordyceps apart. C. militaris stayed in Cordyceps as its type (reference) species, in the family Cordycipitaceae, while the caterpillar fungus moved to Ophiocordyceps, in a new family, Ophiocordycipitaceae.

Its host larvae live in the soil under pasture, in alpine meadow and shrubland from about 3,000 m up to the snow line. Tibetans call it yartsa gunbu and Chinese speakers 冬虫夏草 (dōng chóng xià cǎo); both mean roughly "winter worm, summer grass."

What is Cordyceps militaris, and how is it grown?

Cordyceps militaris is found in North and South America, Europe and Asia, usually on insect pupae, and has yellow to orange fruiting bodies. In Chinese markets, the dried fruiting bodies are sold as 虫草花 (chóng cǎo huā, "cordyceps flower"). Growers most often raise it on rice-based media, and silkworm pupae are also used.

Why is wild caterpillar fungus so scarce, and is it endangered?

Wild caterpillar fungus is protected: China listed it under second-class state protection in 1999, and the IUCN Red List assesses it as Vulnerable. Researchers surveying its natural resources say its decline may result from overexploitation, overgrazing and climate change.

Farming caterpillar fungus is slow: its ghost moth hosts have a life cycle of 3 to 5 years, and even the roughly one year possible in favorable controlled conditions is still too long for large-scale rearing. As of 2018, claimed commercial successes had not been described in a formal scientific report.

Do militaris and sinensis both contain cordycepin?

Cordycepin, a compound similar in structure to adenosine (one of the building blocks of RNA), is regarded as the most economically important compound produced by C. militaris. A 2017 genome study traced its production to a gene cluster in C. militaris and reported that the caterpillar fungus's genome lacks that cluster. Yet a 2019 chemical analysis of eight caterpillar fungus samples, only one of them wild, reported cordycepin both in the wild sample and in caterpillar fungus the authors had cultivated by inoculating ghost moth larvae. So whether wild caterpillar fungus contains cordycepin is unsettled, and the samples tested are small.

Within C. militaris, cordycepin output shifts with the strain, the growing substrate and even light, so a species name alone doesn't tell you whether a product contains cordycepin, or how much. A 2021 review also found a shortage of robust animal studies and randomized controlled trials comparing the two fungi.

Cordyceps militaris vs. sinensis on a label: what does each name mean?

Because the wild fungus is scarce, a 2011 review chapter reported that, in China, cultured mycelium had largely taken its place in commercial products, and that several strains isolated from wild caterpillar fungus were grown by large-scale fermentation. So a label reading "Cordyceps sinensis" can mean mycelium from a fermenter, not the wild fungus.

Some of those strains are a different species altogether. One widely used strain is Paecilomyces hepiali, which a 2020 study moved to the genus Samsoniella, in the same family as C. militaris.

C. militaris products can be mycelium too, so on any cordyceps label check two things: the species and whether it's fruiting body or mycelium.

Which cordyceps is in our Everyday 8?

Our afteRain Everyday 8 contains organic Cordyceps militaris fruiting body extract, 250 mg per 2 g stick. It is one of eight mushroom extracts in each stick, with every amount disclosed. New to mushroom extracts? Here's what makes an extract different from a powder.

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