Cordyceps Militaris - World’s Most Expensive Mushroom

Cordyceps Militaris is a species of fungus in the family Cordycipitaceae, and the type species of the genus Cordyceps. It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Clavaria militaris

The fungus forms 1–8 cm high, club-shaped and orange/red fruiting bodies, which grow out of dead underground pupae. The club is covered with the stroma, into which the actual fruit bodies, the perithecia, are inserted. The surface appears roughly punctured. The inner fungal tissue is whitish to pale orange. The spores are smooth, hyaline, long-filiform, and often septate. They decompose to maturity in 3–7 μm × 1–1.2 μm subpores. The asci are long and cylindrical. Sometimes an anamorphic state, which is Isaria, is found. Masses of white mycelia form around the parasitised insect; however, these may not be of the same species

Cordyceps Militaris can be cultivated in a variety of media including silkworm pupae, rice, or liquid nutrition. It is considered inedible or "probably edible" by American field guides. In Asia the fruiting body is cooked as a mushroom in dishes like chicken soup.

Cordyceps Militaris is a potential harbour of bio-metabolites for herbal drugs and evidences are available about its applications for revitalization of various systems of the body from ancient times. In traditional Chinese medicine, this fungi can serve as a cheap substitute of Ophiocordyceps sinensis. Both contain cordycepin. It contains a protein CMP18 that induces apoptosis in vitro via a mitochondrion-dependent pathway. It is thought that it might be toxic when eaten. Cooking destroys this protein. Cordyceps in the wild has more than 400 different species. Similar species include Cordyceps sobolifera, Elaphocordyceps capitata, and Elaphocordyceps ophioglossoides

Cordyceps is a fungus which grows from the spores fallen on caterpillars inside the soil which give rise to mushroom like body of fungus with stalk and head. As wild variety of this mushroom or fungus is rarely found so it is very expensive and difficult to afford. The world’s most expensive mushroom, prominently talked about in the mushroom category and regarded as the top mushroom with extraordinary properties is used as pre-workout supplement. It can be considered as one of the top super foods.

It is mostly found in high mountain regions of China. Cordyceps are found all over the world and include 400 species that typically infect other insects and arthropods.  As we check for the lifecycle then it is the spore that starts the whole formation. Cordycep spores will land on the insect and then the spore will start germinating, resulting in the formation of hyphae which grow inside the insect and turn into mycelium, which is an important part of the mushroom. Now that the mycelium start consuming the insect and the insect is fully consumed, a blade-like mushroom (fruiting body) will be produced from the insect’s head. The environmental conditions need to be favourable for the whole process. The lifecycle continues and the mushroom will again release spores and infect other one to spread the entire thing.

The wild species of Cordyceps is basically Wild Cordyceps sinensis -The Caterpillar fungus. It is considered as the father of present day Cordyceps which is not actually the sinensis species as being costly and rarely available. It is the most well known species of Cordyceps, now officially known as Ophiocordyceps sinensis which infects the caterpillar of the Hepialus moth. It is mainly found in high elevations in Tibet and Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu but less abundant in India, Nepal and Bhutan. 

The history of Cordyceps dates back to 1993 during the Chinese national games in Beijing. It became popular when a Chinese athlete Wang Junxia consumed Cordyceps as the source of tonic and made a world record in 10,000 meter race in just 42 seconds. No other athlete in the past 23 years could beat her record. But later many athletes who also took Cordyceps as a tonic failed to give desired results. Hence this raised a big question on the efficiency of Cordyceps – whether it really helps in boosting the energy and stamina levels in athletes.

Cordyceps are known to improve the immune system and providing protection from several diseases specially cancer by formation of new cells that strengthen the immune system. It is also associated in shrinking of cancer or tumor cells especially in case of lung and skin cancer. They are also used in kidney problems and other problems related to it; is used after kidney transplant. It can also be used in male sexual disorders, liver related diseases and act as dopamine to improve athletics performances and many other conditions but there are no scientific evidence for above mentioned uses.  

You’ll be surprised to know that the species of Cordyceps or the supplements we are consuming are not actually the wild Cordyceps Sinensis but the commercial form grown invitro.  The cost of wild Cordyceps is around $20,000 per kilogram which is quite high and makes it the most expensive mushroom all over the world. 99.9 Cordyceps supplements do not contain wild Cordyceps not just because of its high price but also that it is exclusively sold in Asia and rarely available in North American market. The reason for the high price of wild Cordyceps is that for many years, the Chinese were unable to cultivate it which led to the lag in its production meanwhile commercial cultivation of the mushroom began by fermenting the spores and forming myceliums leading to the Cordyceps named as “Cordyceps Cs 4”.

Ambergris (The Floating Gold)

Ambergris, Ambergrease, or grey amber, is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor. It acquires a sweet, earthy scent as it ages, commonly likened to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol without the vaporous chemical astringency.

Ambergris has been highly valued by perfume makers as a fixative that allows the scent to endure much longer, although it has been mostly replaced by synthetic ambroxide. Dogs are attracted to the smell of ambergris and are sometimes used by ambergris searchers.

The word ambergris comes from the Old French "ambre gris" or "grey amber". The word "amber" comes from the same source, but it has been applied almost exclusively to fossilized tree resins from the Baltic region since the late 13th century in Europe. Furthermore, the word "amber" is derived from the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) word ambar (variants: ’mbl, 'nbl). 

Ambergris is formed from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale, and can be found floating on the sea or washed up on coastlines. It is sometimes found in the abdomens of dead sperm whales. Because the beaks of giant squids have been discovered within lumps of ambergris, scientists have theorized that the substance is produced by the whale's gastrointestinal tract to ease the passage of hard, sharp objects that it may have eaten.

Ambergris is passed like fecal matter. It is speculated that an ambergris mass too large to be passed through the intestines is expelled via the mouth, but this remains under debate.Ambergris takes years to form. Christopher Kemp, the author of Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris, says that it is only produced by sperm whales, and only by an estimated one percent of them. Ambergris is rare; once expelled by a whale, it often floats for years before making landfall. The slim chances of finding ambergris and the legal ambiguity involved led perfume makers away from ambergris, and led chemists on a quest to find viable alternatives.

Ambergris is found in primarily the Atlantic Ocean and on the coasts of South Africa; Brazil; Madagascar; the East Indies; The Maldives; China; Japan; India; Australia; New Zealand; and the Molucca Islands. Most commercially collected ambergris comes from the Bahamas in the Atlantic, particularly New Providence. In 2021, fishermen found a 280 pound piece of ambergris off the coast of Yemen, valued at $1.5 million dollars. Fossilised ambergris from 1.75 million years ago has also been found.

Ambergris is found in lumps of various shapes and sizes, usually weighing from 15 grams (1⁄2 ounce) to 50 kilograms (110 pounds) or more. When initially expelled by or removed from the whale, the fatty precursor of ambergris is pale white in color (sometimes streaked with black), soft, with a strong fecal smell. Following months to years of photodegradation and oxidation in the ocean, this precursor gradually hardens, developing a dark grey or black color, a crusty and waxy texture, and a peculiar odor that is at once sweet, earthy, marine, and animalic. Its scent has been generally described as a vastly richer and smoother version of isopropanol without its stinging harshness. In this developed condition, ambergris has a specific gravity ranging from 0.780 to 0.926. It melts at about 62 °C (144 °F) to a fatty, yellow resinous liquid; and at 100 °C (212 °F) it is volatilised into a white vapor. It is soluble in ether, and in volatile and fixed oils.

Ambergris is relatively nonreactive to acid. White crystals of a terpene known as ambrein, discovered by Ružička and Fernand Lardon in 1946, can be separated from ambergris by heating raw ambergris in alcohol, then allowing the resulting solution to cool. Breakdown of the relatively scentless ambrein through oxidation produces ambroxan and ambrinol, the main odor components of ambergris.

Ambergris has been mostly known for its use in creating perfume and fragrance much like musk. Perfumes can still be found with ambergris. Ambergris has historically been used in food and drink. A serving of eggs and ambergris was reportedly King Charles II of England's favorite dish. A recipe for Rum Shrub liqueur from the mid 19th century called for a thread of ambergris to be added to rum, almonds, cloves, cassia, and the peel of oranges in making a cocktail from The English and Australian Cookery Book. It has been used as a flavoring agent in Turkish coffee and in hot chocolate in 18th century Europe. The substance is considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures.

Ancient Egyptians burned ambergris as incense, while in modern Egypt ambergris is used for scenting cigarettes. The ancient Chinese called the substance "dragon's spittle fragrance". During the Black Death in Europe, people believed that carrying a ball of ambergris could help prevent them from contracting plague. This was because the fragrance covered the smell of the air which was believed to be a cause of plague.

During the Middle Ages, Europeans used ambergris as a medication for headaches, colds, epilepsy, and other ailments. From the 18th to the mid-19th century, the whaling industry prospered. By some reports, nearly 50,000 whales, including sperm whales, were killed each year. Throughout the 1800s, "millions of whales were killed for their oil, whalebone, and ambergris" to fuel profits, and they soon became endangered as a species as a result. Due to studies showing that the whale populations were being threatened, the International Whaling Commission instituted a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982. Although ambergris is not harvested from whales, many countries also ban the trade of ambergris as part of the more general ban on the hunting and exploitation of whales.

Urine, faeces and ambergris (that has been naturally excreted by a sperm whale) are waste products not considered parts or derivatives of a CITES species and are therefore not covered by the provisions of the convention.

The knowledge of ambergris and how it is produced may have been kept secret. Ibn Battuta wrote about ambergris, "I sent along with them all the things that I valued and the gems and ambergris..."Glaswegian apothecary John Spreul told the historian Robert Wodrow about the substance but said he had never told anyone else

In chapter 91 of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851), Stubb, one of the mates of the Pequod, fools the captain of a French whaler (Rose-bud) into abandoning the corpse of a sperm whale found floating in the sea. His plan is to recover the corpse himself in hopes that it contains ambergris. His hope proves well founded, and the Pequod's crew recovers a valuable quantity of the substance. Melville devotes the following chapter to a discussion of ambergris, with special attention to the irony that "fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale."

In A Romance of Perfume Lands or the Search for Capt. Jacob Cole, F. S. Clifford, October 1881, the last chapter concerns one of the novel's characters discovering an area of a remote island which contains large amounts of ambergris. He hopes to use this knowledge to help make his fortune in the manufacture of perfumes.

Black Rice, Grown in Asian Part of World

Black Rice is a range of rice types of the species Oryza sativa, some of which are glutinous rice. Black rice is also known as 'Forbidden Rice' in ancient China since only those belonging to the upper class could afford to eat it.

The 'forbidden rice'. The secret of the intriguing nomenclature goes back to Ancient China, where a black variant of rice was consumed by a host of Chinese kinsmen for betterment of kidneys, stomach and liver, until a handful of noble Chinese men took possession of every grain and withheld it from public consumption. Black rice then became a property for the royalty and the wealthy only in Ancient China. Black rice continued to be cultivated but only for the elite classes, in limited quantities and under strict surveillance. The common folk were prohibited from growing or consuming it, and since then it earned its much renowned label - the forbidden rice.

There are several varieties of black rice available today. These include Indonesian black rice, Philippine heirloom balatinaw black rice and pirurutong black glutinous rice, and Thai jasmine black rice. Black rice is known as chak-hao in Manipur, India.

In Bangladesh it is known as kalo dhaner chaal (black paddy rice) and used to make polao or rice-based desserts. The bran hull (outermost layer) of black rice contains one of the highest levels of anthocyanins found in food. The grain has a similar amount of fiber to brown rice and, like brown rice, has a mild, nutty taste.

Black rice has a deep black color and usually turns deep purple when cooked. Its dark purple color is primarily due to its anthocyanin content,which is higher by weight than that of other colored grains. It is suitable for creating porridge, dessert, traditional Chinese black rice cake, bread, and noodles. 

compared to other types rice varieties. The whole grain rice also packs umpteen health benefits.  Black rice or the forbidden rice (Chinese) is a rare and a very old variety of rice that has been growing in India for centuries.  It is mainly grown in the North East region (called as Chak Hao) and the southern parts (called as Kavuni in Tamil) of India. Here are a few benefits of Black rice. 

Benefits of Black Rice-

1. Rich in Antioxidants
2. Natural Detoxifier
3. Good Source of Fiber
4. Preventing Risk of Diabetes
5. Preventing Risk of Obesity
6. Richer Protein Content
7. Better Heart Health

Spotted Lake or lake khiluk, Northwest of Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada

Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in the eastern Similkameen Valley of British Columbia, Canada, accessed via Highway 3. Spotted Lake is richly concentrated with various minerals. It contains dense deposits of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains high concentrations of eight other minerals and lower amounts of silver and titanium.

Spotted Lake is very highly concentrated with numerous different minerals. It contains some of the highest quantities (in the world) of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains extremely high concentrations of 8 other minerals as well as some small doses of four others such as silver and titanium.

Spotted Lake is very highly concentrated with numerous different minerals. It contains some of the highest quantities (in the world) of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates. It also contains extremely high concentrations of 8 other minerals as well as some small doses of four others such as silver and titanium.

Most of the water in the lake evaporates over the summer, revealing colorful mineral deposits. Large 'spots' on the lake appear and are colored according to the mineral composition and seasonal amount of precipitation. Magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer, is a major contributor to spot color. In the summer, remaining minerals in the lake harden to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.

Originally known to the First Nations of the Okanagan Valley as Kliluk, Spotted Lake was for centuries and remains revered as a sacred site thought to provide therapeutic waters. During World War I, the minerals of Spotted Lake were used in manufacturing ammunition.

Later, the area came under the control of the Ernest Smith Family for a term of about 40 years. In 1979, Smith attempted to create interest in a spa at the lake. The First Nations responded with an effort to buy the lake, then in October 2001, struck a deal by purchasing 22 hectares of land for a total of $720,000, and contributed about 20% of the cost. The Indian Affairs Department paid the remainder.

Today, there is a roadside sign telling visitors that the lake is a cultural and ecologically sensitive area, and a traditional medicine lake for the Okanagan Syilx people. The lake can be viewed from the fence that has been erected for protection from the liabilities of public access. Many travelers stop to view the site.

Beehive Ginger (Shaped Like a Horn), South Asia

Beehive Ginger is an ornamental ginger native of Thailand and produces spectacular cones of flowering bracts that begin a greenish color and eventually age to a bright golden yellow, pink or red. Cones can be large, up to 20-30cm tall. The cones grow on a short spike from the base of the plant. In tropical areas the plant will grow all year around but in cooler climates goes dormant in winter. Plant in part shade, soil should be well drained and moist. This ginger will grow well in full sun as well in the subtropics and tropics, but foliage will be a lighter green and some sunburn might occur during very hot weather. Does not tolerate frost. In Australia it will grow as far south as Sydney. This makes an excellent, long lasting cut flower.

It is a species of true ginger, native to Maritime Southeast Asia. It is primarily grown in the West as an ornamental plant, although it has been used in South-East Asia as a medicinal herb.

The scientific name of the species is Zingiber spectabile. "Zingiber" is originally from a Sanskrit word that means "shaped like a horn" and refers to the horn-shaped leaves of most species of ginger. "Spectabile" is derived from the Latin spectabilis, meaning 'visible' or 'spectacular'. The plant is commonly known in the West by the common name "beehive ginger", due to its unusual inflorescences which resemble a skep beehive. It is also referred to by the common names "Ginger wort" or "Malaysian ginger".

In common with most plants in genus Zingiber, the leaves of the plant are long and mostly oblong shaped, tapering to a single point at their tip. Under ideal circumstances, the plant can reach a height of 4.5 metres (15 ft), or even more.

The plant's inflorescence is set atop a spike and can measure up to 30 centimetres (12 in) in height. The bracts attached to the structure can differ in colour, from white, to yellow, orange, or even red, often darkening as the bracts mature and develop.The flowers themselves are small, with purple petals and yellow spots, and a fragile, papery texture.

In Indonesia, the plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation of the eyes.It is prepared for use by pounding the leaves of the plant into a thick paste, and then topically applying it to the required part of the body. It has also been recorded being used to treat burns, as a treatment for headaches and back pain, and as an agent for food preservation.

Academic research has found that the plant has antimicrobial properties, and significant concentrations of the Zerumbone synthase enzyme, which may be effective in treating colon cancer.

Dracula Simia (Monkey Face Flower), Native To The Mountainous Regions of Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru

Dracula Simia is also called monkey orchid or the monkey-like Dracula, is an epiphytic orchid originally described in the genus Masdevallia, but later moved to the genus Dracula. The arrangement of column, petals and lip strongly resembles a monkey's face. The plant blooms at any season with several flowers on the inflorescence that open successively. Flowers are fragrant with the scent of a ripe orange.

This flower species was christened by botanist Carlyle A. Lueren in 1978. Dracula simia translates to "little dragon monkey, with reference to its long fang like petals." Despite their eerie resemblance to monkeys, the flowers are fragrant with the scent of a ripe orange. 

Today approximately 90 species that are found in moist forests, mostly in western Colombia and Ecuador, are recognized. Dracula have short, creeping rhizomes with short, erect, one-leafed, thin textured shoots with a distinct midrib. The colorful, typically single flowers are usually large and pendent, although some species exhibit erect inflorescences. Individual flowers are usually produced singly in succession and in some species, inflorescences are capable of producing 5, 6 or more flowers during the lifetime of the inflorescence.

The tips of the sepals form long, slender tails. At the uppermost part, the short petals have a warty texture which can give the appearance of two eyes along either side of the nose-like column. Draculas are very popular in hobbyist collections and many species and hybrids are now in cultivation. Whether due to the interesting flowers or to the fanciful names, D. vampira, D. chimaera, D. bella, D. gorgona and D. simia are some of the sought-after species.

The World Monocot Checklist contains 124 accepted names, including 2 natural hybrids. The genus Dracula is probably most famous for containing the monkey face orchids (Dracula simia). Thanks to our predisposition for pareidolia, we look at these flowers and see a simian face staring back at us. Less obvious, however, is the intricate detail of the labellum, which superficially resembles the monkey's mouth. A close inspection of this highly modified petal would reveal a striking resemblance to some sort of gilled mushroom.

Indeed, a mushroom is exactly what the Dracula orchids are actually trying to mimic. The main pollinators of this genus are tiny fruit flies that are mushroom specialists. They can be seen in the wild crawling all over Dracula flowers looking for a fungal meal and a place to mate. Some of the flies inevitably come away from the Dracula flower with a wad of pollen stuck to their backs. With any luck they will fall for the ruse of another Dracula flower and thus pollination is achieved.