Paul Stamets on Joe Rogan (crazy stuff, apolitical topics are all I can stand, then only barely...) mentioned that Cordyceps sinensis seems to have different fruiting forms, and in the wild it often grows with another fungi so you get very different expression.
I'm not a TCM believer, but dispassionate studies Stamets mentioned also have shown that growing some fungi on grain vs. hardwood causes large swings in the production of some compounds by the mycelium. "You are what you eat" applies to plenty of things, and I think there's just a huge bias we have that 'some dumb white fuzz' can't have all this hidden complexity.
I'm not a TCM believer, but dispassionate studies Stamets mentioned also have shown that growing some fungi on grain vs. hardwood causes large swings in the production of some compounds by the mycelium. "You are what you eat" applies to plenty of things, and I think there's just a huge bias we have that 'some dumb white fuzz' can't have all this hidden complexity.