[rsynnott]

Except, as mentioned in the article, they _did_ look into it, to the extent of DNA testing it! And still didn't come to a particularly satisfactory conclusion. "It might be an agave, but also the agave expert says agaves aren't like that" is about as far as anyone seems to have gotten.

[wombatmobile]

> Except, as mentioned in the article, they _did_ look into it, to the extent of DNA testing it!

What do your experts make of this wikipedia article?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maerua_oblongifolia

[hug]

Well, the experts which were consulted by the writer of the article have this to say:

> I had a breakthrough a few months later when I came across a thesis paper by Dr. MS Rathore, who had propagated Maerua oblongifolia in the lab in 2011. He had seen the tree many times in the desert state of Rajasthan. “But I haven’t heard or seen anybody eating the root,” the scientist said over a call, sounding puzzled.

> “Its roots are sparse and inedible,” added Dr. NS Shekhawat, his thesis adviser and a retired professor of botany. “Growing in dry regions, where will it have so much water to develop big roots and be fat and juicy? [The snack] can’t be Maerua oblongifolia.”

Which seems to provide a little bit of a counterpoint.

[apocolyps6]

If you read 4 paragraphs into that article, you will find out

[wombatmobile]

Try harder and follow the links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlwOrdciEX8

[wombatmobile]

So, it's an unclassified botanical specimen. That's not really a "mystery". It's just an unclassified botanical specimen.

This makes the product application of the root even less mysterious:

"It was seasoned with salt, chili powder, and lime; my husband’s had sugar and lime. It was crunchy, juicy, and refreshing, but had no taste of its own."

[rsynnott]

It's _extremely_ weird that there is a commonly sold food, and no-one can figure out what it is. In particular, the vendors are unwilling to talk about it, and where pushed vaguely claim it's an agave, but the agave expert says it's not (of course, maybe he's wrong).

The whole thing is fascinating. It's a low-stakes mystery, but a mystery all the same.

[citizenpaul]

Based on the comment about

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphide in agave can be toxic. And the fact that it is only sold in paper thin strips. My guess is the vendors are aware that it is poison but in those parts of the world life is cheap and money is hard to come by. So they just ignore this and carry on selling it. Anyone asking might be there investigating the cause of some of their health issues.