product for export is maca flour, which is a baking flour ground from the hard, dried roots. It is called harina de maca. Maca flour (powder) is a relatively inexpensive bulk commodity, much like wheat flour or potato flour. The supplement industry uses both the dry roots and maca flour for different types of processing and concentrated extracts. Another common form is maca processed by gelatinization. This extrusion process separates and removes the tough fiber from the roots using gentle heat and pressure, as raw maca is difficult to digest due to its thick fibers. Archaeological evidence exists for varying degrees of cultivation of maca in the Lake Junin region from around 1700 BC to 1200 AD. Maca has been harvested and used by humans in the puna grasslands of the Andean Mountains for centuries. Contrary to frequent claims that maca's cultivation was common in what is today Peru, until the late 1980s, maca has been cultivated only in a limited area around Lake Junin, in central Peru. Historically, maca often was traded for lowland tropical food staples, such as maize, rice, manioc (tapioca roots), quinoa, and papaya. It also was used as a form of payment of Spanish imperial taxes. Traditional medicine Maca has been marketed for its supposed uses in traditional medicine, but there is no high-quality research to indicate it has any effect on health or diseases. A 2016 systematic review found little evidence that it affects semen quality in healthy and infertile men. A 2011 review found no good evidence either for the effectiveness of maca as a treatment for menopausal symptoms in women or for its safety. References meyenii Flora of Peru Root vegetables Crops originating from Peru Plants described in 1843 Medicinal plants of South America