Maca (Peruvian Ginseng)

Lepidium meyenii

Maca, a tiny turnip-looking root, is one of many plants that has been put up onto the precarious “superfood” pedestal. There is no doubt that this powerful little medicinal Brassica root from Peru has its place in this world as medicine, but the global hype over superfoods often has detrimental effects on the communities that the plant came from. In addition to its medicinal qualities, maca can be ground into a powder and used to make a hot chocolate-like drink.

The Three Colors of Maca (Little Bird Organics)

Related Resources

• Maca Plant Pirates in Peru (HBO)—VICE News (YouTube)

• Why We Love Maca: Top Benefits of this Amazing Adaptogenic Herb—Gaia Herbs

• What are the Different Colours of Maca?—Little Bird Organics (image source)

• Andean Roots and Tubers: Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca and Yacon—Michael Hermann

• Maca: Fuente de Vida y Energía de Perú Para el Mundo—
  pdrsperu (YouTube)

• Globo Repórter sobre Maca Peruana | Lançamento Nutrigenes (YouTube)

• Maca—Marca Perú (see YouTube video below)

• AgroTV - 180: Desarrollo de la Maca Orgánica en Junín—
  MIDAGRI TV (see YouTube video below)

“Maca is an Andean crop of narrow distribution. It is restricted today to the suni and puna ecosystems… of Peru at elevations above 3500 m and often reaching 4450 m in the central Andes of Peru.” — Michael Hermann, Andian Roots and Tubers: Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca and Yacon, p. 182