Maniokki – Manihot esculenta

Seedling forms a taproot with generally slender secondary roots. Adventitious roots arise from stem cuttings and serve as storage roots. They are long and slender or cylindrical to globose, 5-20 per plant, up to 80 x 10 cm in size, white, brownish or reddish, becoming lignified with age. Stem is woody, unbranched to variously branched, predominantly brownish or greyish, usually with prominent leaf scars. Leaves are arranged spirally, long petioled, simple. Leaf blade is 5-20 cm, palmately 3-9-lobed, with oblong, obovate or linear-lanceolate acuminate lobes 8-15 cm long, glabrous, glaucous beneath. Stipules are triangular-lanceolate, 5-7 mm, entire or with 1or 2 bristly segments. Inflorescence is a terminal or axillary raceme, 3-10 cm long, with bracts oblong-lanceolate and pedicels 4-6 mm. Flowers are unisexual with 5 united sepals and no petals. Female flowers are basal and open first, with calyx ca. 10 mm, calyx lobes oblong-lanceolate, ca. 8 mm long. Ovary ovoid, longitudinally 6-angled, stigmas recurved, plaited. Staminate flowers are apical with calyx ca. 7 mm, purple-red, divided to or over middle, lobes long ovate, 3-4 mm long, hairy inside. Stamens are 6-7 mm. Capsule is subglobose, longitudinally 6-winged, 1-1.5 cm in diameter, scabrous, with up to 3 ellipsoid seeds. Seeds are slightly triangular, ca. 1 cm, smooth, variegated. All parts of the plant contain white latex and varying concentrations of a cyanogenic glucoside.