Common name: cassava, manioc, manihot, yuca
Scientific name: Manihot esculenta Crantz
Family: Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family)
Plant part used: storage root, leaves
Where grown: throughout the Tropics
Native to: Tropical America
Use: Cassava roots are almost pure starch. They can be eaten fresh, boiled, roasted, baked, made into flatbread or powdered and toasted. Tapioca is made from heated, purified cassava starch. It is an excellent thickening agent often used in fruit pies and puddings. Wild, bitter cassava releases cyanide when cut, chewed, or mashed. Cultivated cassava is not harmful when cooked (unlike wild cassava), but some people may develop an upset stomach from it. Cassava leaves are edible after boiling.

Cassava is the staple food for over 500 million people, mainly in Africa and Latin America. It is often the only food available for subsistence-level farmers.

Common name: rice, arroz, riz
Scientific name: Oryza sativa L.
Family: Poaceae (Grass family)
Plant part used: grain
Where grown: throughout the world
Native to: Asia
Use: Rice is polished with brushes to remove the brown husk and then cooked, usually boiled or steamed, and perhaps then fried. Polishing removes much of the protein and vitamins, leaving a nearly pure starch grain.

Rice is the world’s most important crop. It is estimated that 1.6 billion people depend on rice as a staple food. It has been an integral part of eastern cultures for thousands of years. China is now the world’s largest producer of rice.

Large acreages of humid tropical rain forest have been cleared and planted to rice. Unfortunately, many tropical soils are nutrient poor and can support rice crops for only a year or two. These areas may then be turned into pasture for cattle, contributing to further nutrient depletion in the soil.

Common name: sweet potato, yam (although not a true yam)
Scientific name: Ipomoea batatas (L.) Poir.
Family: Convolvulaceae (Morning-glory family)
Plant part used: storage root
Where grown: throughout the world
Native to: South American Andes
Use: Sweet potatoes can be boiled, baked, or roasted. Although mostly starch, they contain vitamin A and two percent protein. The young vine tips also can be eaten.

Sweet potatoes are often labeled “yams,” but true yams are in the genus Dioscorea of the family Dioscoreaceae and are unrelated to sweet potatoes. Fossilized sweet potatoes from the Andes have been dated to 8,000–10,000 B.C. Cultivation of sweet potatoes by native people in Malaysia and Polynesia is evidence of the ancient trade across the Pacific between the Old and New Worlds. China is the leading producer of sweet potatoes.

Common name: taro, eddoe, dasheen, “old” cocoyam
Scientific name: Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott
Family: Araceae (Arum family)
Plant part used: tuber (thickened underground stem)
Where grown: throughout the Tropics and Subtropics
Native to: Polynesia and East Asia
Use: Taro can be prepared in many ways, but should not be eaten raw, as it contains calcium oxalate crystals that can cause throat and esophogus swelling. It can be grated and “hash-browned,” made into a pureed soup, added to stew, or deep fat fried and eaten as crunchy chips.

Taro is a staple, starchy food of the tropical Pacific and West Africa. Poi is a paste made of cooked taro that is pounded and thinned with water. It is often slightly fermented. It was a staple of the native people of Hawaii, but has never been much of a hit with most tourists!

Common name: water chestnut
Scientific name: Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex Henschel
Family: Cyperaceae (Sedge family)
Plant part used: corm (swollen underground stem)
Where grown: China, Asia
Native to: believed to be China or West Africa
Use: Water chestnuts can be eaten peeled, raw or cooked. They are added to salads, stir-fried dishes or eaten as is.

Water chestnuts are most commonly associated with Chinese food. Most of the water chestnuts in our supermarkets are grown in China.

Common name: yam
Scientific name: Dioscorea spp.
Family: Dioscoreaceae (Yam family)
Plant part used: tuber (swollen underground stem)
Where grown: throughout the Tropics
Native to: Africa, Asia, Tropical America
Use: Yams are eaten boiled, baked, fried as chips or fritters, grated and fried, and grated and steamed for bread and cakes. Because of their bland flavor they are rarely eaten alone, but are usually mixed with strongly-flavored, salty, fatty, or spicy foods. Yams should not be eaten raw, as they may contain calcium oxalate crystals. The crystals are contained in the peel and so are eliminated by peeling and cooking.

Yams are one of the most important food crops in the world: 25 million tons are produced annually. Domestication of the many species of yams seems to have occurred independently on each continent. In many parts of Africa and Asia yams are important in all aspects of the culture. In New Guinea and Melanesia yams are planted in ceremonial gardens. The yams, which can weigh over 100 pounds each, are used as gifts in ritualized exchange. In some cultures, only men are allowed to grow yams.

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