Plant of the Week

Name: Oca
Latin Name: Oxalis tuberosa
Origin: Andes Mountains, Peru

Oca is a little known root crop that is native to the Andes mountains. The starchy tubers are somewhat similar to potato or Jerusalem artichoke. The leaves are also edible, since it is in the same genus (Oxalis) as wood sorrels common in the U.S.

Oca is a staple food in the upper Andes mountains, and is common in New Zealand as a 'yam.' It is even fairly easy to get a hold of in Europe. (At least as a garden plant, if not a grocery item.)

The main reason that it isn't popular here is that it requires growing conditions that are fairly difficult to come by in the U.S. climate zones. It needs a long growing season, and it is also daylength dependent. It also doesn't tolerate heat or frost very well. In other words, it won't develop its tubers until there is less than 12 hours of sunlight each day. But it doesn't like the heat of mid-summer or the below freezing temperatures. The main problem is that we usually have a frost before the tubers have developed to full size. Still, there are ways that this could be manipulated or overcome, at least on a home garden scale.