Sentence:  The banana, the most important crop above ground, quarreled with the <WSD>manioc</WSD>, the most important underground crop....The <WSD>manioc</WSD> said that it, the yam, the sweet potato, and others were the ones that fed people and that without them people could not exist. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The tropical plant "Manihot esculenta", from which cassava and tapioca are prepared.