Variegated Tapioca (Manihot esculenta ‘Variegata’)
Attractive and
easy-to-grow,
Variegated
Tapioca makes
an eye-catching
plant to use as
a garden’s focal
point. The
showy, palmate
leaves have
creamy-yellow
centers with a
band of green
around the leaf
edges. The variegation
is stable
regardless
of environmental
conditions
and the bright red stems add to its ornamental appeal. With the benefits of being
heat and drought tolerant, it performs well as a container plant, or grow it in the
garden as an annual in colder zones. Known as cassava in South American countries,
the roots are peeled and boiled for cassava meal or tapioca.