Root plant to fuel the process. In return, the plant takes nitrogen compounds produced from ammonia by the bacteria. The term root crops refers to any edible underground plant structure, but many root crops are actually stems, such as potato tubers. Edible roots include cassava, sweet potato, beet, carrot, rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, radish, yam and horseradish. Spices obtained from roots include sassafras, angelica, sarsaparilla and licorice. Sugar beet is an important source of sugar. Yam roots are a source of estrogen compounds used in birth control pills. The fish poison and insecticide rotenone is obtained from roots of "Lonchocarpus" spp. Important
Root beer Root beer Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the sassafras tree "Sassafras albidum" (sassafras) or the vine "Smilax ornata" (sarsaparilla) as the primary flavor. Root beer may be alcoholic or non-alcoholic (but it is usually non-alcoholic), come naturally free of caffeine or have caffeine added, and be carbonated or non-carbonated. It usually has a thick, foamy head when poured. Modern, commercially produced root beer is generally sweet, foamy, carbonated, nonalcoholic, and flavored using artificial sassafras flavoring. Sassafras root is still used to flavor traditional root beer, but since sassafras was banned by the U.S.