"Maca is a plant that grows in central Peru in the high plateaus of the Andes Mountains. It has been cultivated as a vegetable crop in this area for at least 3000 years. Maca is a relative of the radish and has an odor similar to butterscotch. Its root is used to make medicine. People take maca by mouth for ""tired blood"" (anemia), improving fertility, sexual dysfunction, and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. In foods, maca is eaten baked or roasted, prepared as a soup, and used for making a fermented drink called maca chicha. In agriculture, it is used to increase fertility in livestock."