Cassava, also known as manioc or tapioca root, is an important tropical root crop and one of the major sources of starch. The plant is native to tropical regions of the Americas and is widely cultivated for food, starch production, animal feed, and other applications.
The roots contain a substantial amount of starch at maturity, making cassava an important raw material for the production of tapioca starch, cassava chips, pellets, flour, glucose, and other cassava-based products.