Maca

maca, (Lepidium meyenii), also called Peruvian ginseng, herbaceous plant of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), cultivated for its edible rootlike storage organ. The plant is native to the Andes Mountains of central Peru, where it grows at elevations roughly between 4,000 and 4,500 metres (13,000 and 14,800 feet). It is cultivated as a root vegetable for its fleshy underground storage organ, which is composed of a small taproot fused with a section of stem known as a hypocotyl. The plant is also used in folk medicine, particularly as an aphrodisiac and fertility enhancer. Touted for its health benefits, maca “root” is exported and sold commercially in powdered form.