Maca

Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp) is an annual plant classified in the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae family and Lepidium genus which is cultivated in the Andes highlands at altitudes of 3,500 to 4,500 m. The roots of Maca are used as medicinal and as a food ingredient. It is one of the most frost-resistant plant in the Andean Highlands and can grow in environments where other crops cannot be cultivated.
In the pre-Columbian cultures it was considered as a gift from the gods. The chronicles of the Spanish conquest era referred this root as a sacred food limited to the Inca royalty and for the warriors of the empire troops due to its properties to elevate virility, vitality and physical strength. Bernabé Cobo, chronicler of indigenous stories, described it like a root that worshipped Venus, the love goddess, because of its benefits for fertility, and as a powerful aphrodisiac for men and animals.