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Information about Jicama

Pachyrhizus erosus

Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Fabales
Family:Fabaceae
Subfamily:Faboideae
Genus:Pachyrhizus
Species:P. erosus
Binomial name
Pachyrhizus erosus
(L.) Urb.


The jícama (pronounced "hee-kuh-muh"; from Spanish, derived from Nahuatl xicamatl), also known as the Mexican Potato or Mexican Turnip, is the name of a vine native to Mexico and Central America, although the name is most commonly used to refer only to the edible tuberous root of the plant. The jicama is one species in a genus (Pachyrhizus) which is commonly referred to as yam beans, although the name "yam bean" is sometimes used as another name for the jicama specifically. The other major species of yam beans are indigenous to other parts of the Americas.

The jicama vine can reach a height of 4-5 metres given suitable support. Its root can attain lengths of up to 2m and weigh up to 20 kilograms. The root's exterior is yellow and papery, while its inside is creamy white with a crisp texture that resembles that of a raw potato or pear. The flavour is sweet and starchy, reminiscent of some apples. It is usually eaten raw, sometimes with salt, lemon or lime juice and powdered chili. It is also cooked in soups and stir-fried dishes. Cultivation of the jícama has recently spread from the Americas to China and Southeast Asia where notable uses of raw jícama include popiah and salads such as yusheng and rojak.

In contrast to the root, the remainder of the jícama plant is very poisonous; the seeds contain the toxin rotenone, which is used to poison insects and fish.

The jícama is high in carbohydrates in the form of dietary fibre. It is composed of 86-90% water; it contains only trace amounts of protein and lipids. Its sweet flavour comes from the oligofructose inulin (also called fructo-oligosaccharide).

Jícama should be stored dry, between 12°C and 16°C (53°F and 60°F); colder temperatures will damage the root. A fresh root stored at an appropriate temperature will keep for a month or two.

References

Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Plantae
Haeckel, 1866[1]

Divisions

Green algae
  • Chlorophyta
  • Charophyta
Land plants (embryophytes)
  • Non-vascular land plants (bryophytes)

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Magnoliophyta

Classes

Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Liliopsida - Monocots

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms comprise the two extant groups of seed plants.
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Magnoliopsida
Brongniart

Orders

See text.
Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of flowering plants whose seed typically contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons.
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Fabales
Bromhead

Families

Fabaceae (legumes)
Quillajaceae
Polygalaceae (milkwort family)
Surianaceae

Fabales is an order of flowering plants.
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Fabaceae
Lindl.

Subfamilies

Caesalpinioideae
Mimosoideae
Faboideae
References

GRIN-CA 2002-09-01

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae
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Faboideae

Tribes

Abreae
Adesmieae
Aeschynomeneae
Amorpheae
Bossiaeeae
Brongniartieae
Carmichaelieae
Cicereae
Crotalarieae
Dalbergieae
Desmodieae
Dipterygeae
Euchresteae
Galegeae
Genisteae
Hedysareae
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Pachyrhizus
Rich. ex DC.

Species

Pachyrhizus ahipa
Pachyrhizus erosus
Pachyrhizus ferrugineus
Pachyrhizus panamensis
Pachyrhizus tuberosus
Ref: ILDIS Version 6.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné)

Carl von Linné, Alexander Roslin, 1775. Currently owned by and hanging at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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Ignatz Urban (1848-1931) was a German botanist. In 1887 he succeeded A. W. Eichler as editor of the Flora Brasiliensis, the final volume of which was published in April 1906.
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Mexico
(Mexico (state), Distrito Federal, Puebla, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Michoacán and Durango)
Total speakers: 1.7 million
Language family: }} 
Official status
Official language of: none
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vine is any plant of genus Vitis (the grape plants) or, by extension, any similar climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vīnea, referred to the grape-bearing variety.
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Pachyrhizus
Rich. ex DC.

Species

Pachyrhizus ahipa
Pachyrhizus erosus
Pachyrhizus ferrugineus
Pachyrhizus panamensis
Pachyrhizus tuberosus
Ref: ILDIS Version 6.
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Pachyrhizus
Rich. ex DC.

Species

Pachyrhizus ahipa
Pachyrhizus erosus
Pachyrhizus ferrugineus
Pachyrhizus panamensis
Pachyrhizus tuberosus
Ref: ILDIS Version 6.
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1 metre =
SI units
1000 mm 0 cm
US customary / Imperial units
0 ft 0 in
The metre or meter[1](symbol: m) is the fundamental unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).
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kilogram or kilogramme (symbol: kg) is the SI base unit of mass. The kilogram is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK), which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water.
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Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M (long- and medium-wavelength) cone cells of the retina about equally, but does not significantly stimulate the S
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Paper is thin material used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging, produced by the amalgamation of fibres, typically vegetable fibers composed of cellulose, which are subsequently held together by hydrogen bonding.
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For other uses, see Cream (disambiguation).
Cream is the colour of the cream produced by cattle grazing on natural pasture with plants rich in yellow carotenoid pigments, some of which are incorporated into the cream, to give a slight yellow tone to the
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White is the combination of all the colors of the visible light spectrum.[1]. It is sometimes described as an achromatic color, like black.

White is technically achromatic, and not a color, since it has no hue.
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S. tuberosum

Binomial name
Solanum tuberosum
L.

The potato is the term which applies either to the starchy tuberous crop from the perennial plant Solanum tuberosum
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Pyrus
L.

Species

About 30 species; see text

A pear is a tree of the genus Pyrus and the juicy fruit of that tree, edible in some species.
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Salt is a mineral essential for animal life, composed primarily of sodium chloride. Salt for human consumption is produced in different forms: unrefined salt (such as sea salt), refined salt (table salt), and iodized salt.
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C. × limon

Binomial name
Citrus × limon
(L.) Burm.f.

The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a hybrid in cultivated wild plants.
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Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits (generally citruses), both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3-6 cm in diameter, generally containing sour pulp, and frequently associated with the lemon.
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The chili pepper, or more simply just "chili", is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum and the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

The name, which is spelled differently in many regions (chili, chile or chilli
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Soup is a liquid food that is made by combining ingredients, such as meat, vegetables or legumes in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth. Boiling was not a common cooking technique until the invention of waterproof containers (which probably came in
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Stir frying is an English umbrella term used to describe two fast Chinese cooking techniques: chǎo () and bào (). The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese
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