Tapioca in the garden

In some old landscapes in Charlotte county you may find a shrub-like plant called cassava or yuca which is the source of tapioca and other starch products.  As recently as 1984, there were about eight-hundred acres of this crop grown in Miami-Dade County.  Once somewhat common in Florida backyard gardens, this plant produces swollen, edible roots which are an important source of food in many tropical countries.  When properly selected, grown and prepared, it is a delicious starchy root crop  and an interesting landscape subject.  Can you grow some tapioca in your own garden?

Cassava  is a shrub-like plant from South America which is now grown around the world.  Attractive, palmate leaves grow from cane-like branches growing upwards to ten feet tall in our area.  Unseen underground are enlarged roots up to thirty inches long and three to four  inches wide packed with carbohydrates.  Older varieties  called “bitter” cassavas are toxic until extensively processed  to remove the poisonous cyanide.  Modern-day so-called “sweet” cassavas are fine to eat once peeled and boiled.  Growing in practically any soil type, cassava are easy to grow, but need  a minimum of eleven months of warm weather to develop roots large enough to eat.  One established, cassava are carefree and practically drought-proof.

To start a cassava plant all you need is a segment of the stem about ten inches long.  Bury the stem(right end up) about four inches deep directly in the ground where you want it to grow about four feet apart in rows four feet wide.  As mentioned above, segments set out in spring will take up to eleven months of warmth to produce useful roots.  In the meantime, while waiting for the roots, the tropical foliage and cane-like branches are attractive and interesting accents in your landscape.

While I have seen cassava cane section cuttings for sale on-line, I have never seen edible cassava plants for sale at local nurseries.  However, I have seen on occasion a beautiful variegated variety (not sure of its edibility) which has yellow, cream and green variegation with red leaf stems.  You may even have seen this more common cultivar in local landscapes and wondered what it was.  To find edible cultivars locally such as one that I have tried called ‘Jamaican Sweet’, try a place like ECHO - http://echonet.org/ in North Ft. Myers.  They have a nursery with a great diversity of tropical/subtropical fruits and vegetables.  You may even have a neighbor with a sweet cassava plant who can give you a cutting or two to start a new planting.

The cassava is an interesting plant to grow, if not for the roots, just for the tropical beauty of its leaves and as a conversation piece!  For more information on all types of tropical plants that can be grown in our area, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

  

Resources:

 Stephens, J. M. (2015) Cassava – Manihot esculenta  Crantz.  The University of Florida, IFAS.

Christman, S. (2005) Manihot esculenta .  Floridata.com, Tallahassee, FL.