The cassava plant is a shrub that can reach a height of up to 3m. Its leaves are a strong green colour and have a multiple lobed shape. The cassava plant was originally native to Brazil, but is now also cultivated in Asia and Africa.
The brown, beet-shaped root of the plant is poisonous in its raw state. When cooked, the tuber can be used in many ways. It is fried, boiled or processed into chips.
In dried and ground form, tapioca starch is extracted from the tuber. In cosmetics the ingredient is used to create a dry and velvety skin feeling (see below hydroxypropy oxidized starch pg-trimethylammonium chloride).