Manioc or Yuca

The manioc also named as Yuca in Peru, "couac" in Guyana or "Chikwanque" in Brazil,is a perennial plant native to the Amazon, which grows in tuberous roots that must be well cooked (usually boiled) to consume them. Indeed, raw or poorly cooked, they produce a poisonous hydrocyanic acid. It was exported in the 16th century from Brazil to Africa, where it became a staple food for millions of Africans.