On the hit zombie TV show "The Last of Us", cordyceps fungus mostly turns people into "superstrong killing machines", said Bloomberg.
But in traditional medicine, the chilli-shaped fungi are "prized as a panacea" and "an aphrodisiac" – so much so that one species found throughout the Himalayas, cordyceps sinensis, is "worth four times its weight in gold". But the booming demand for this so-called "Himalayan Viagra" is taking its toll on a vulnerable region.
'Modern coming-out party'
In the remote, high-altitude pastures of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and India, the cordyceps is known by the Tibetan phrase yartsa gunbu ("summer grass, winter worm"). It is believed to strengthen lungs and kidneys, as well as increase vitality. It's also prized in traditional Chinese medicine as an aphrodisiac.
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And it's lately had "something of a modern coming-out party", said Bloomberg. In 1993, a Chinese track coach attributed "a series of record-breaking runs" to a tonic made from the fungus.
Since Nepal legalised trade in 2001, it has become a "coveted gift" in China, South Korea and Japan: "a way to show off". Cheap supplements promising "synthetic slivers of cordyceps" can be bought everywhere from Whole Foods to Amazon. In 2013, researchers estimated that the global market was worth as much as $11 billion (£8.7 billion) a year.
It is "the world's most highly prized parasite", said Oryx Journal, and one of the most important sources of income in the extremely poor region. But little is known about its trade, while its harvest and sale is "often illegal and unsustainable".
In 2020, the non-profit organisation International Union for Conservation of Nature listed yartsa as vulnerable to extinction, saying it had declined by at least 30% over 15 years.
A deadly harvest
Its price and scarcity means yartsa "hasn't been studied much in the West", said New Scientist. But researchers in China, Nepal and India have documented its potential benefits for liver, kidney and cardiovascular disease, as well as possible "anti-inflammatory and anti-viral effects". Scientists at the University of Oxford are also studying its potential as an anti-cancer drug.
The increasing demand for yartsa is having "a huge ecological impact" on the region, which is already "warming at double the global average rate". Digging for the fungus increases erosion and harvesting methods can pollute rivers and lead to deforestation.
It's also dangerous for the people gathering yartsa on treacherous terrain that's vulnerable to flash floods and avalanches, said Bloomberg. In 2023, more people died hunting yartsa than "summiting Mount Everest".
The yartsa trade also "relies significantly on child labour", and the potential pay-offs are fuelling smuggling and turf-war violence.
"People fight and die over it, and we're not even sure it works," said Rajendra Bajgain, a member of Nepal's House of Representatives. "Yartsa needs regulation, and we need to shore up our borders. What's really unbelievable is how many people come from China to buy it and smuggle it home. It's out of control."
