Sugar cane - plant profile


Names

Sugar cane, noble cane (English)
Ikshu, khanda, sarkara (Sanskrit)
Pundia, paunda (Hindi)
Poovan karumbu (Tamil)

Botanical name: Saccharum officinarum
Family: Poaceae, the grass family, also known as the Gramineae

The plant

Sugar cane is a tall grass which looks rather like a bamboo cane. Some forms grow up to 6 metres tall. The thicker stemmed forms are commonly known as 'thick' or 'noble' canes because of their tall, handsome and colourful stems.
Photo of sugarcane growing in a field.
Image: Sugar cane is cultivated for its stem.

Stem (cane) - robust and often brightly coloured. Sugar cane is cultivated for its stem. The main product is the sugar contained within it.

Leaves - broad leaves, growing alternately off the stem. The base of the leaves encircle the stem.







Besides Saccharum officinarum, four other species in the Saccharum genus, and their hybrids, have been used for sugar production. They are S. barberi, known as "Indian cane" or "thin" cane; S. robustum, which is probably a wild ancestor of S. officinarum; S. sinense, known as 'Chinese cane' and thought to be a hybrid of S. officinarum and S. spontaneum; and S. spontaneum, which is known as 'wild cane' and used for hybridisation purposes.