Lepidium meyenii
| Lepidium meyenii | |
|---|---|
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| Root | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Brassicaceae |
| Genus: | Lepidium |
| Species: | L. meyenii |
| Binomial name | |
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Lepidium meyenii Walp. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Lepidium peruvianum |
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Lepidium peruvianum
Lepidium meyenii (maca) is an herbaceous biennial plant of the crucifer family native to the high Andes of Peru. It was found at the Meseta de Bombón close to Junin Lake in the Andes. It is grown for its fleshy hypocotyl (a fused hypocotyl and taproot), which is used as a root vegetable and a medicinal herb. Its Spanish and Quechua names include maca-maca, maino, ayak chichira, and ayak willku.
The first westerner to describe this species was Gerhard Walpers who named it Lepidium meyenii in 1843. In the 1990s, Gloria Chacon made a further distinction of different species. She considered the widely cultivated natural maca of today to be a newer domesticated species, L. peruvianum. Most botanists today doubt this distinction, however, and continue to call the cultivated maca L. meyenii. The Latin name recognized by the USDA also continues to be Lepidium meyenii. Debate is still ongoing about the correct nomenclature and whether the distinction between meyenii and peruvianum is botanically correct.
The growth habit, size, and proportions of maca are roughly similar to those of radishes and turnips, to which it is related. The green, fragrant tops are short and lie along the ground. The thin, frilly leaves sprout in a rosette at the soil surface, not growing more than 12–20 cm (4.7–7.9 in) in height. The leaves show a dimorphism according to reproductive stage. They are more prominent in the vegetative phase, and are continuously renewed from the center as the outer leaves die. The off-white, self-fertile flowers are borne on a central raceme, and are followed by 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) siliculate fruits, each containing two small 2.0–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) reddish-gray ovoid seeds. Seeds are the maca’s only means of reproduction. Maca reproduces mainly through self-pollination and is an autogamous species. The genome consists of 64 chromosomes. From experiments with different day lengths, maca is a short-day plant. Some sources consider the maca to be an annual plant, as in favorable years it can complete a lifecycle within a year.
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Wikipedia