Last edited on 3 Feb 2024. View history

Olluco

Also known as melloco (en) milluku (en) ulluku (en) papalisa (en) ulluco (en)

Ullucus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Basellaceae, with one species, Ullucus tuberosus, a plant grown primarily as a root vegetable, secondarily as a leaf vegetable. The name ulluco is derived from the Quechua word ulluku, but depending on the region, it has many different names.

1: planting
0: harvests
0: seed packets

Growstuff is a free, community-run site for people who grow food. Keep track of what you plant and harvest, find seeds to swap, and see what is growing near you. Join to record your own olluco.

Olluco facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less

How members grow olluco

Sunniness

Planted from

Photos

Olluco crops

Photo by GIANELLA CURASCO HUAMAN via iNaturalist (Copyright GIANELLA CURASCO HUAMAN)

by cropbot 2021-02-12 0

Photo by Mayriliz Coro via iNaturalist (Copyright Mayriliz Coro)

by cropbot 2021-01-15 0

Photo by pablopa05 via iNaturalist (Copyright pablopa05)

by cropbot 2023-02-25 0

More photos

Where olluco grow

Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.

What people are saying about olluco

Nobody has posted about olluco yet.

Who's planted olluco

tegan garden - front yard

Olluco harvests

Nobody has harvested this crop yet.

Find olluco seeds

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Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Ullucus tuberosus Caldas

Family / Taxonomy	Magnoliopsida Caryophyllidae Caryophyllales Basellaceae
Optimal temperature	12 - 20 °C
Absolute temperature	5 - 28 °C
Killing temperature	growth: 0 °C, rest: -4 °C
Optimal rainfall	1100 - 1400 mm/year
Absolute rainfall	800 - 1800 mm/year
Optimal soil pH	5.5 - 6.5
Absolute soil pH	5.0 - 7.0
Crop cycle	120 - 270 days
Max altitude	4000 m
Life form	herb
Life span	annual
Habit	prostrate/procumbent/semi-erect
Optimal soil depth	medium (50-150 cm)
Optimal soil texture	medium
Optimal soil fertility	high
Optimal soil drainage	well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity	low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod	short day (<12 hours)
Optimal light	very bright

Licensed under CC-BY-4.0 .

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) ECOCROP, the crop ecological requirements database. Version 1. https://data.apps.fao.org/catalog/dataset/ecocrop. Accessed through the CGIAR Climate Action Data Hub, https://cgiar-climate-data-hub.github.io/catalog/ecocrop_1/.

Learn more about olluco

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