Nowadays Lepidium meyenii has gained great recognition all over the world as an excellent hormonal balancer. But most people have no idea about how this plant looks. Keep reading to know how Lepidium meyenii is.

General Description:

Lepidium meyenii is an herbaceous, low-growing plant. It is an annual, biennial or perennial plant (authorities do not agree). Lepidium meyenii has an enlarged tuberous, fleshy underground organ formed by the taproot. This part of the plant swells during growth, forming a storage organ (a.k.a. hypocotyl) resembling a turnip.

Lepidium meyenii grows 10 cm to 20 cm in height. Its main stem grows underground, and is 3 cm to 5 cm in diameter at the most wide part and 15 cm in circumference. The secondary stems are decumbent.

This term refers to the structure, commonly named ‘tuber’, ‘root’ or ‘fruit’ that is located between the stem and the real roots.

The hypocotyl is hard in consistency and can occur in a variety of colors: yellow, cream, purple, black, red, etc. This is the edible part of the plant and varies between 2 cm and 5 cm in size.

This part of the plant serves to anchor the plant to the ground, to absorb water & nutrients from the surrounding land and to store and concentrate the nutrients.

As the hypocotyl has a high concentration of nutrients, it is the economic product of Lepidium meyenii; therefore, it is the part of the plant that is used as a daily food and herbal supplement.

The leaves form a mat and grow in close contact with the ground. The leaves are fairly polymorphic, according to the position they occupy on the branches or secondary stems. They are rosulate, pinnatipartite and are continuously renewed from the centre of the rosette.

The Lepidium meyenii leaves serve as food for livestock (especially for guinea pigs), and to prepare salads.

The floral buds appear in a small cluster at the centre of the rosette, or as solitary flowers in some of the leaf axils, announcing the initiation of the generative shoots, the main reproductive structures. After the three-month flowering period, only a few of the first flowers will produce fruit.

Lepidium meyenii has a dry fruit which dimensions are from 3 mm to 5 mm long and 2.5 mm wide. They will set in most of the flowers throughout flowering time, maturing in approximately 5 weeks. Approximately 85% of the fruits will bear seeds.

Seeds are small, ovoid, measuring 2 mm to 2.5 mm in length. Their color can vary from reddish grey or tan to brown in color, and they are light in weight. A single plant of Lepidium meyenii produces approximately 14 g of seeds. In fact, one gram contains approximately 1,600 seeds.