Manihot esculenta

Cassava (manyòk)

• Also called Cassava, Manioc, Yuca, Tapioca plant
• Haitian Creole Manyòk
• Tamil Maravalli kizhangu (மரவள்ளிக் கிழங்கு)

Woody shrub, 1-4 m, grown as a root crop

What it is

Cassava is a woody shrub, not a tree, grown for its long, starchy roots. It has knobbly stems and leaves cut deeply into five to nine finger-like lobes. It is planted from short pieces of stem and the roots are ready in 8 to 24 months. It comes from South America, probably Brazil, and is now one of the main food crops of the tropics. Its roots and leaves must be properly peeled, soaked or cooked before eating.

What it's used for

• Its roots are boiled, fried or grated, and in Haiti they are made into kasav, a flat cassava bread.
• Its roots also give starch and tapioca.
• Its leaves and peels are used as livestock fodder after drying or ensiling.
• It grows on poor, dry soil where few other crops do well.

Where we plant it

Our partners plant the mix of native species that suits each site and season, so a gift plants trees in the project rather than this one species. Manihot esculenta is one of the species planted there.

Read more about Manihot esculenta on en.wikipedia.org