\[ **BT: [[fungi]] | [[parasites and parasitoids|parasitic fungi]] | [[hypocrealeans]] | [[Chinese medicine]]** ] --- # *Ophiocordyceps sinensis* (caterpillar fungus) | | | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | *Ophiocordyceps sinensis* (Berk.) | G.H. Sung, J.M. Sung, Hywel-Jones & Spatafora[^1] | | *Cordyceps sinensis* (Berk.) | Sacc.[^2] | | *Hirsutella sinensis* | X.J. Liu, Y.L. Guo, Y.X. Yu & W. Zeng[^3] | | *Sphaeria soinensis* | Berk.[^4] | - The [[Chinese language|Chinese]] name is 冬虫夏草 (dōng chóng xià cǎo).[^5] - lit: *’winter worm, summer grass*’.[^6]) ## a note on the English name > ‘Strangely, sometimes in Chinese English-language texts *Cordyceps sinensis* is referred to as ***aweto***, which is the Māori name for *Ophiocordyceps robertsii*, a species from south-eastern Australia and New Zealand.[^7] When translating into English, ==’caterpillar fungus’ is the preferred term.==[^8] ## caterpillar fungus in traditional Chinese medicine The entire fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected for medicinal use. It is regarded as having an excellent balance of yin and yang as it is considered to be composed of both an animal and a vegetable. > ‘In traditional Chinese medicine, its name is often abbreviated as ***chong cao*** (蟲草 “insect plant”), a name that also applies to other *Cordyceps* species, such as *C. militaris*.’[^9] [^1]: Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^2]: Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^3]: Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^4]: Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^5]: ‘Ophiocordyceps sinensis’, Wikipedia, last edited 13 April 2024, 03:19 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis; Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^6]: ‘Ophiocordyceps sinensis’, Wikipedia, last edited 13 April 2024, 03:19 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis; Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^7]: ‘Ophiocordyceps sinensis’, Wikipedia, last edited 13 April 2024, 03:19 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis [^8]: Jing-Nuan Wu, ‘Cordyceps Sinesis’, *[[Wu, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, 2005|An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica]]* (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 216. [^9]: ‘Ophiocordyceps sinensis’, Wikipedia, last edited 13 April 2024, 03:19 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis