[00:01.76]Yartsa gunbu has been used as a traditional remedy for thousands of years[00:07.74]Though only by the very wealthy.[00:10.49]It's been bartered for tea and silk[00:12.80]And is worth more than four times its weight in silver.[00:16.60]So lucrative is this trade,that sites and information are jealously guarded.[00:27.54]At the nearby market, yartsa gunbu are cleaned[00:31.41]And their true nature becomes clear.[00:35.25]The yartsa gunbu translates as "summer grass,winter worm".[00:41.04]The winter worm is a caterpillar.[00:45.26]It eats roots of grasses, in preparation for its transformation into a moth.[00:56.73]But some winter worms never make it as moths.[01:00.41]Instead,a strange growth erupts from their body[01:03.62]Appearing above ground in summer.[01:07.06]This is the "summer grass"[01:09.47]A fungus called Cordyceps, whose spores have infected the caterpillar[01:14.49]Using its body as their host.[01:19.53]Modern scientific tests have shown that substances contained in Cordyceps[01:24.46]lower blood pressure and make it easier to breathe.[01:28.49]So in recent years,harvesting this natural treasure[01:32.18]has grown into a huge and profitable business.