revolution China only the top 15Cc of the population could 

 afford to use it. Medicinally, it ser\cs to stimulate the digestion 

 and hence is administered to the sick and convalescent. 



The Silver Ear is both gathered in the wild and cultivated. In 

 nature, it grows in slightly warmer areas than the Auricularia 

 fungi. It is commonly found on rotten wood in association with 

 persimmon, wild fig, Alhizzia, alder, Dalhergia, Liquiclanihar, 

 peach, chestnut and maple mixed hardwood and deciduous 

 forests. Almost all of the marketed Tremella are from culti\a- 

 tion. The innoculum is generated from spores in laboratories on 

 a medium composed of 0.8 oz. agar, 6.5 oz. potato peels, 0.64 oz. 

 glucose, 0.03 oz. calcium phosphate and one quart oi water 

 maintained at 68 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and a ph of 5.5. In a 

 few days a white mycelium forms which can be transferred to the 

 growing bed. The substrate is composed of 20 parts sawdust, 7.5 

 parts wheat bran, one part cane sugar and one part gypsum. The 

 fruiting bodies appear in ten to fifteen days and are harvested 

 and sun-dried. 



Tremella is prepared usually as a decoction which can be 

 taken either as a sweet or a salty tonic. The salty tonic is pre- 

 pared with two gallons of water, a salted chicken, onions, Chi- 

 nese dates {Zizyphus jujuha Mill.: Rhamnaceae) and a table- 

 spoon of salt and one half ounce of revived Tremella. The sweet 

 tonic, which is said to be especially good for the elderly, is made 

 with 1.5 quarts of water, 3 tablespoons of sugar and one half 

 ounce of revived Tremella. Both decoctions must boil for at least 

 90 minutes. 



Cordyceps sinensis (Berk.) Saccardo 



In the foothills of the eastern Himalayas of western China live 

 the Yung, an alpine people of Tibetan stock. Their villages lie at 

 about 7000 feet where barley, spring wheat and rhubarb are 

 cultivated. Every spring, this tough people trek into the high 

 mountains in search of their principal cash crop — Dong Chong 

 Xia Cao or the Winter Worm Summer Herb — the darkened 

 stroma of Cordyceps sinensis. 



Cordyceps sinensis parasitises the larvae of Hepialus arnwri- 

 caniis Oberthur, a relatively rare Himalayan moth found only 



62 



