View source for Mashua

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| image = Peru Oca y mashua.jpg
| image_caption = Yellow mashua with yellow [[oca]]
| name = Mashua
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plants|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Brassicales]]
| familia = [[Tropaeolaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Tropaeolum]]''
| species = '''''T. tuberosum'''''
| binomial = ''Tropaeolum tuberosum''
| binomial_authority = Ruíz and Pavón
}}

The '''mashua''' or '''añu''' is a [[perennial plant]] grown in the [[Andes]] for its [[edible tuber]]. It is a major food source there. The tuber is rather peppery in flavor when raw, but this quality disappears when cooked. 
It is related to nasturtiums.

The plant is well adapted to high-altitude [[subsistence agriculture]].  It grows vigorously even in marginal [[soil]]s and in the presence of [[weed]]s, and gives high yields;  the tubers comprise as much as 75 percent of the mature plants by dry weight (40 percent is typical for [[cereal]]s), and 70 tons per hectare have been produced under research conditions.

Its extraordinary resistance to [[insect]], [[nematode]], and [[bacteria]]l pests is attributed to high levels of [[isothiocyanate]]s.  In Colombia, it is planted as a [[companion planting|companion crop]] to repel pests in [[potato]] fields.
[[Image:Tropaeolum tuberosum3.jpg|140px|left|thumb|''T. tuberosum'']]
Mashua has also been used to treat [[nephropathy]] and as a [[diuretic]].

Popularization of mashua may be limited by its strong flavor, and its reputation as an [[anti-aphrodisiac]]. Indeed it been recorded by the Spanish chronicler Cobo that mashua was fed to their armies by the Inca Emperors, "that they should forget their wives"

[[Category:Brassicales]]
[[Category:Root vegetables]]
[[Category:Underutilized crops]]

{{vegetable-stub}}
{{Brassicales-stub}}