Yam Bean

Yam bean, widely known by its Spanish name jicama, is the edible tuberous root of Pachyrhizus erosus, a vine native to Mexico and Central America now cultivated across Southeast Asia and other tropical regions. The root has a crisp, watery, faintly sweet flesh eaten raw in salads and with chili and lime, or cooked in stir fries, and is protected by a thin brown skin that is peeled away before eating. Unlike most legumes grown chiefly for their seed, yam bean is cultivated primarily for its tuber; the plant's seeds and foliage are toxic and are not eaten.