Unearthing the "Lost" Andean Root Crop "Mauka" (Mirabilis expansa [Ruiz & Pav.] Standl.) Gendall, H.; Seminario, J.; Sørensen, M.; Theilade, I. Published in: Economic Botany DOI: 10.1007/s12231-019-09467-y Publication date: 2019 Document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Document license: CC BY Citation for published version (APA): Gendall, H., Seminario, J., Sørensen, M., & Theilade, I. (2019). Unearthing the "Lost" Andean Root Crop "Mauka" (Mirabilis expansa [Ruiz & Pav.] Standl.). Economic Botany, 73(4), 443-460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-019-09467-y Download date: 25. Sep. 2021 Unearthing the “Lost” Andean Root Crop “Mauka” (Mirabilis expansa [Ruíz & Pav.] Standl.) ,1 2 3 4 H. GENDALL* ,J.SEMINARIO ,M.SØRENSEN , AND I. THEILADE 1Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AB, UK 2Programa de Raíces y Tubérculos Andinos, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cajamarca, Cajamarca, Peru 3Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark 4Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark *Corresponding author; e-mail:
[email protected] Unearthing the “Lost” Andean Root Crop “Mauka” (Mirabilis expansa [Ruíz & Pav.] Standl.). Although recognized as part of the vibrant array of native roots and tubers that support farmers’ livelihoods in the Andean region, the root vegetable “mauka” (Mirabilis expansa (Ruíz & Pav.) Standl.) is little known outside the scattering of communities where it is cultivated and is considered at risk of disappearance. Based on fieldwork carried out in Peru in 2016, this study documents ethnobotanical knowledge of mauka through interviews with 40 farmers across the regions of Ancash, Huánuco, Puno, and Amazonas.