Cordyceps

What Cordyceps is

Cordyceps militaris fruits as a slender orange club, usually no longer than a finger. The color is striking enough that it is easy to pick out of a growing tray, and it is the form the powder is milled from.

The genus has a stranger reputation than the species deserves. Several of its relatives grow out of insect larvae, and the historic Himalayan material, Cordyceps sinensis, was collected that way and priced accordingly. The species used in powders is cultivated on a plant substrate, and no insect is involved at any point.

Why the cultivated species won

Cordyceps sinensis has never been cultivated at scale, which left it scarce and expensive enough to be widely adulterated. Cordyceps militaris grows readily indoors and carries the same signature compound at higher levels, so it became the species behind almost every Cordyceps product sold today.

The compounds

Cordycepin is the compound this species stands on. It is a nucleoside, structurally close to adenosine, which is the molecule the body builds its own energy currency from. Cordyceps carries both, and militaris carries more cordycepin than the Himalayan species it replaced.

It also holds beta-glucans and other polysaccharides in the usual way, plus mannitol, sometimes called cordycepic acid. Together these are the basis for the stamina and respiratory support the species is traditionally taken for.

How to get it

We do not sell a single-species Cordyceps powder. It is one of the seven mushrooms in our signature daily blend, ground from 100% fruiting bodies with no additives and no extracts.

Compounds it is known for

• Cordycepin
• Adenosine
• Beta-glucans
• Polysaccharides
• Mannitol

What people take it for

• Supports energy and stamina
• Supports respiratory and cardiovascular health
• Supports the immune system

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.