The Search for Cordyceps Sinensis
Summer Internship, 2006
2006 Student Internship
Rachelle Gould
Internship Host: Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Environmental and Forestry Studies, Lamegompa, Bhutan
When one kilogram of a freely available natural resource is worth over US$2,000, local people won't miss a chance to collect, even if collection means freezing temperatures and oxygen-poor air. The fungal parasite Cordyceps sinensis infects the larvae of a butterfly or moth; thus the valuable medicinal product, with properties ranging from increased sexual potency to a lessening of the malignancy of cancer, is essentially a short white caterpillar with a black tubular fungus extending straight up from its head (yum!). The collection of Cordyceps requires physical stamina and dedication; it grows at about 5000m elevation, must be harvested in the frigid rain of the monsoon season, and can only be identified with an eye held almost horizontal to the surface of the ground. The collector pictured is intently scanning the spongy high-alpine mud for the small black protrusions that are Cordyceps.
Rachelle Gould
Internship Host: Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Environmental and Forestry Studies, Lamegompa, Bhutan
When one kilogram of a freely available natural resource is worth over US$2,000, local people won't miss a chance to collect, even if collection means freezing temperatures and oxygen-poor air. The fungal parasite Cordyceps sinensis infects the larvae of a butterfly or moth; thus the valuable medicinal product, with properties ranging from increased sexual potency to a lessening of the malignancy of cancer, is essentially a short white caterpillar with a black tubular fungus extending straight up from its head (yum!). The collection of Cordyceps requires physical stamina and dedication; it grows at about 5000m elevation, must be harvested in the frigid rain of the monsoon season, and can only be identified with an eye held almost horizontal to the surface of the ground. The collector pictured is intently scanning the spongy high-alpine mud for the small black protrusions that are Cordyceps.
Bumthang district, Bhutan, at 5000 meters
