Himalayan Viagra: A Mushroom Rises High

It’s one of the most expensive and elusive herbs in the world, selling at up to 8,000€ a kilo. Chinese billionaires want it for its legendary powers as an aphrodisiac. Doctors prize its medical properties. Every spring, entire villages in the Himalayas empty as people go in search of the yarshagumba mushroom. But it’s a difficult task, fraught with danger. The yarshagumba only grows for a few weeks of the year at high altitudes in the mountains. Harvesters, which include young children, run the risk of altitude sickness and breathing problems. We examine the yarshagumba phenomenon, following the mushrooms’ journey from the peaks of the Himalayas to the markets of Asia.

Georges HALPERN, J.Y WU, John HOLLIDAY

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