Guides
Tapioca as crop and starch
The pearl in the cup is cassava starch. FAO’s cassava pages name Manihot esculenta as a root crop grown for starch. USDA FoodData Central lists tapioca pearl values per 100 g. A shop’s sugar ladder stays on that shop’s menu the day you order.
Crop
FAO cassava is the crop door. Cassava is a tropical root. The starch extracted from it becomes the dry pearl you cook. UF/IFAS publishes Florida cassava notes when a home grower asks; those pages stay on ask.ifas.ufl.edu.
Starch in the cup
Open USDA FoodData Central and search tapioca pearls for the current per-100 g row. That row is a food composition table, not a calorie claim from a drink shop. Tapi holds the drink words on tea terms.