Cordyzza Essay

I wanted to write about the Cordyceps because it’s one of the most interesting type of fungi I have ever heard about, mostly because I love zombie movies and this fungus was the inspiration to really popular game called “The last of Us.” I first heard about it in a BBC documentary “Planet Earth” years ago and I still remembered watching the scene of the so called “Zombie Fungi,” being really fascinated by it.
The cordyceps belong in the kingdom of fungi, different from plants and animals. Although some people claim the Cordyceps is both plant and animal. Belonging to the Phylum “Ascomycota” or the sac fungi, and the Genus is named Cordyceps. I would focus on a single species, however, there are over 400 different species of Cordyceps found in Asia, Australia, China, Europe, North America, Russia. The one I’m going to be focusing on the most is
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis since it is found Brazil and it is the most researched.
Generically, the cordyceps is a type of fungi that infect insects. Every species of the cordyceps focus on a single family or species of insect or fungus, such as the Ophiocordyceps sinensis focuses on the larvae of Ghost Moths, but the
There is a medicinal use for the cordyceps, according to AlohaMedicines, “It has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese and Tibetan Medicine for virility, fertility, liver and kidney disorders, lung problems, hyperlipidemia, weakness, fatigue, combating colds and flu, cough and phlegm, shortness of breath, bronchial discomfort, asthma, and for overall rejuvenation.” Also according Webmd, it is used “for strengthening the immune system, improving athletic performance, reducing the effects of aging, promoting longer life, and improving liver function in people with hepatitis B.” I wouldn’t ever want to try using Cordyceps for medicine due to the game “The Last Of Us,” but it was interesting