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Cordyceps, Caterpillar Fungus, Dong Chong Xia Cao 冬虫夏草

Dong Chong Xia Cao ('Winter Worm, Summer Herb', TCM)
Left: uncleansed and cleansed fresh Cordyceps; Right: bunches of graded Cordyceps as sold on the Chinese Market.

More Photos of Cordyceps

Entomological name:
Cordyceps sinensis

Parts used:
Dried worm with Cordyceps

Temperature & Taste:
Warm, moist. Sweet

Uses:
1. Warms and Strengthen the Kidneys, Tonifies Yang:
-Impotence, Spermatorrhea
-Weakness and pain of the lower back and knees

2. Strengthens the Lungs, Stops Cough and Wheezing:
-Chronic Cough and Wheezing from deficiency
-Consumptive cough, Hemoptysis
-also for symptoms of altitude sickness
-nourishes Lung Yin, increases Lung Qi and Yang and is therefore very effective for chronic cases and safe for long term use.


Main Combinations:
1. Kidney weakness with Impotence and chronic Lower Back Pain, Cordyceps with Eucommia Du Zhong, Epimedium Yin Yang Huo and Cistanches Rou Cong Rong.
2. Weakened resistance to colds and flu, spontaneous sweating:
i. Cordyceps with Astragalus Huang Qi, Saposhnikovia Fang Feng
ii. cook Cordyceps with Duck, Chicken or Pork and Astragalus Huang Qi, Angelica Dang Gui and Lycium Gou Qi Zi.
3. Night Cough, Cordyceps with American Ginseng (Xi Yang Shen), Codonopsis Dang Shen, Astragalus Huang Qi
4. Sweating from weakness, Cordyceps with Astragalus Huang Qi and Atractylodes Bai Zhu.
5. Impotence, Infertility, Chronic Kidney weakness with lower back pain and sexual dysfunction, diseases of old age or Immune deficiency, Cordyceps with Solomans Seal, Withania, Asparagus racemosus, Orchis (as in Gso Byed 6 Pa of Tibetan Medicine)
6. Altitude sickness;
i. Cordyceps with Rhodiola Hong Jing Tian, Snow Lotus Xue Lian
ii. Cordyceps with Rhodiola Hong Jing Tian, Withania, Licorice

Cautions:
Very Safe.
Generally not used for acute conditions (exterior pathogens).

Main Preparations used: