Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is an edible herbaceous biennial plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family. It is native to the high Andes mountains of South America, specifically within the regions of Peru and Bolivia.
The plant was rediscovered for commercial use in the late 1980s at the Meseta de Bombón plateau near Lake Junin. It is primarily cultivated for its fleshy hypocotyl fused with a taproot, which can be consumed fresh as a root vegetable or dried for various applications.
As a cash crop, maca is frequently exported as a powder in raw, gelatinized starch, or extract forms. When dried, the plant may also be processed into flour for use in baking or as a dietary supplement.