Scientific name: Manihot utilissima
The bitter cassava or tapioca is a plant with long tuberous edible roots and soft brittle stems. The plant is native to the Amazone region of Latin America. It grows to a height of 1.5 to 2.5 m tall. The flowers are creamish with pink shades on the petal edges. The flowers are with five petals and each with a stamen attached to int. Another bunch of short stamens are found in the centre. This is a staple food for common man in many African, Latin American and Asian countries with full of starch sans any proteins. In India also in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu it is widely cultivated. I took this photograph on 23rd December 2011, just in front of my sister's home in Kerala.
