Maca (Lepiium peruvianum Chacón) is an herbaceous biennial plant or annual plant (some sources say a perennial plant) native to the high Andes of Peru. It is grown for its fleshy hypocotyl (actually 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.