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Saccharum officinarum
Poaceae FAMILY

Saccharum officinarum

Saccharum officinarum

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Leaves and sheaths of some varieties are covered with a large number of siliceous hairs. These hairs penetrate the skin of cane cutters and are most unpleasant; hence cane cutters prefer varieties with few hairs or burnt cane[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
GrowthFast

Most commercial sugarcane is grown at latitudes between 35°N and S in the tropics, usually at elevations from sea level to 1,600 metres[1]. The plant grows best in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,500 - 2,000mm, tolerating 1,000 - 5,000mm[1]. It prefers a mean annual temperature within the range 24 - 37°c, though can tolerate 15 - 41°c[1]. There are large differences between different cultivars in their tolerance to cold and susceptibility to frost[1]. Generally, long-term exposure to temperatures below 10°c can be lethal, whilst even short periods at 0°c causes the leaves to become chlorotic, at about -3°c young plants turn brown and the terminal buds and leaves of mature cane die, when the temperature reaches -11.5°c the whole plant dies[1]. Grows best in a sunny position. A very greedy plant, soon exhausting the soil of nutrients[2]. The plant is considered to be moderately tolerant to saline soil conditions and relatively tolerant of acid soils[1]. Grows best in a position sheltered from strong winds[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 8, but can tolerate 4.5 - 9[1]. Well-grown plants can become invasive[3]. When irrigated, yields of 100 - 150 tons of cane can be obtained from mature plants[1]. Young plants can yield 60 - 90 tons[1]. There are many named varieties[4]. The roots develop from the growth ring on the original planting piece and also from the new shoots that develop. The majority of the roots are thin and superficial with four fifths of the roots commonly found in the top 25 - 50cm of the soil. Thicker roots will penetrate to depths of 4 metres or more[1].

Propagation

Seed - Cuttings, consisting of 2 - 3 joints of the upper part of a stem that has been selected from a vigorous, healthy plant. They are placed in the ground with only 2 - 5cm of the cutting projecting above the surface. In about two weeks from planting the 'eyes' at each node will send forth shoots, and roots will grow from the nodes themselves. As the shoots develop, the parent stem decays and the young plants produce roots of their own[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Saccharum+officinarum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam — Safford W.E. · Smithsonian Institute; Washington. · 1905 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A very comprehensive, if rather dated, guide to the plants of Guam. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  5. [5]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Medicinal Plants in the South Pacific — WHO Regional Publications, Manilla. · 1998 · ISBN 92-9061-118-9 ↩︎Excellent guide to 102 medicinal herbs of the Pacific Islands, with photographs of each plant and details of their constituents, biological activities and traditional uses. A description of each plant, together with habitat and distribution is given.
  7. [7]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region