Sugarcane, Purple Sugar Cane
Saccharum officinarum

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A grass species originated in Southeast Asia, Saccharum officinarum or Sugarcane is a perennial clump-forming plant reaching a height of up to 5m. The leaves are green, alternate, linear, and elongated with internodes, thick midribs, and saw-toothed edges. The leaf ash is used against sore eyes while stem juice is against sore throats, snake bites, and wounds from poison arrows. Leaf decoction, on the other hand, is used in the treatment of urinary conditions. The stems contains a very sweet sap which can be consumed as a drink, made into syrups, or dried to make sugar and molasses among others. It can also be manufactured into alcohol for used as a fuel in combustion engines. The stem also produces wax which can be used in the production of furniture, shoe, leather polishes, electrical insulating material, and waxed paper. Furthermore, the stem yields fiber used for paper-making. Cane residue once sugar is extracted is known as bagasse. It is used as a fuel and for manufacturing paper pulp, plastic, fiberboard, etc.

Saccharum officinarum is a PERENNIAL growing to 6 m (19ft) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 6

Where it is found

Not known as a wild plant.

Originated in cultivation.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh*, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Central America, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, French Guiana, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Hispaniola, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea*, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Reunion, Samoa, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

The stems contain a very sweet sap. They are crushed to extract this sap, which is then used in a variety of ways. It can be used as a sweet, refreshing drink, though it is more commonly concentrated to make syrups or dried to make sugar, molasses etc. The core of fresh stems is chewed as a sweet refreshment.

Sap: usually of trees and usually but not always used as a drink.

Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Sweetener: includes sugar substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The leaf ash is used to treat sore eyes. The stem juice is used to treat sore throats. The sweet juice in the stem is used to treat snakebite and wounds from poison arrows. Mixed with an infusion of 'wallaba' (Eperua sp.) it is used to treat curare poisoning A decoction of the young leaves is used to treat urinary conditions.

Urinary: Treats urinary problems, including urinary tract infection (UTI).

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: Sugar cane is a very greedy crop that soon exhausts the soil. In some countries the plant is intercropped with indigo or other leguminous plants between the rows when the canes are first planted. These legumes are turned into the soil while they are still green and succulent. This process has a very beneficial effect. Other Uses A wax obtained from the stems resembles carnauba wax. It is used in the production of furniture, shoe, and leather polishes, electrical insulating material, and waxed paper. The sweet sap from the stems can be manufactured into alcohol for used as a fuel in infernal combustion engines. The stems are a source of fibre used for making paper. Bagasse is the residue of the cane after the sugar is extracted. It is used as a fuel and for the manufacture of fibreboard, paper pulp, plastic, furfural, and cellulose. Nitrogen fixation during decomposition of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is an important contribution to nutrient supply in traditional dryland agricultural systems of Hawai'i.

Alcohol: Used for fuel etc. (this is wood alcohol, it is not the sort that can be drunk.

Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.

Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.

Insulation: Providing insulation against extremes of temperature, sound or electricity.

Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.

Polish: Plants used to give a shine to metals, wood etc.

Wax: Used for making candles etc.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world. The annual value of each is more than $1 billion US Examples include coconuts, almonds, and bananas.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Industrial Crop: Wax: Water resistant, malleable substances. Currently, most commercial wax is made from paraffin - a fossil fuel.

Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Other Systems: Dyke-pond: Aquaforestry integrating, fish, livestock and crops.

Other Systems: Homegarden: Tropical multistrata agroforestry (multi-story combinations of trees, crops, domestic animals in the homestead).

Staple Crop: Sugar: Perennial sugar crops include sugarcane and compare favorably to annuals.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world. The annual value of each is more than $1 billion US Examples include coconuts, almonds, and bananas.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Industrial Crop: Wax: Water resistant, malleable substances. Currently, most commercial wax is made from paraffin - a fossil fuel.

Management: Hay: Cut to the ground and harvested annually. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Other Systems: Dyke-pond: Aquaforestry integrating, fish, livestock and crops.

Other Systems: Homegarden: Tropical multistrata agroforestry (multi-story combinations of trees, crops, domestic animals in the homestead).

Staple Crop: Sugar: Perennial sugar crops include sugarcane and compare favorably to annuals.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

Most commercial sugarcane is grown at latitudes between 35N and S in the tropics, usually at elevations from sea level to 1,600 metres. The plant grows best in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,500 - 2,000mm, tolerating 1,000 - 5,000mm. It prefers a mean annual temperature within the range 24° - 37°c, though can tolerate 15 - 41°c. There are large differences between different cultivars in their tolerance to cold and susceptibility to frost. Generally, long-term exposure to temperatures below 10c 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 -11.5c the whole plant dies. Grows best in a sunny position. A very greedy plant, soon exhausting the soil of nutrients. The plant is considered to be moderately tolerant to saline soil conditions and relatively tolerant of acid soils. Grows best in a position sheltered from strong winds. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 8, but can tolerate 4.5 - 9. Well-grown plants can become invasive. When irrigated, yields of 100 - 150 tons of cane can be obtained from mature plants. Young plants can yield 60 - 90 tons. There are many named varieties. 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. Flowering Time: Late Winter/Early Spring. Bloom Color: White/Near White.

Propagating it: 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.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 8-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

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. (Plant has spines or sharp edges; use extreme caution when handling )

Well-grown plants can become invasive.

Its other names

Local names

Sugarcane, Purple Sugar Cane, Burgundy Sugar Cane, Black Magic Repellent Plant, Ampow, Arekie, Bos, Bus, Cana de acucar, Cana sacarina, Canna da zuccehero, Canne a sucre, Cheruku, Dovu, Ebikajjo, Fo'u, Ganiesi, Ganna, Guru, Hetaru, Hong gan zhe, Ikshu, Karimbu, Karumbu, Kelju, Khanda, Kolchu, Maphu, Menhet, Mihali, Misale, Mlungo muwa, Moko, Mzimbe, Njuwa, Oy, Paat, Patta patti kabbu, Paunda, Poovan, Pundia, Rosan, Sarkara, Satou kibi, Sau, Tebu, Te kaisoka, Te taiokeken, Tiwu, To, Tolo, Ukhu, Zuckerrohr, akh, akhu, asipatra, bhurirasa, cana, cana-de-açúcar, canne à sucre, caña de azúcar, caña dulce, cheraku, cheruku, dirghacchada, ganna, gheraku, gudamula, gániesi, ikh, ikha, ikshu, iksu, ik?u, ik?u (root stock), ik?u (stem), kabbu, karimpu, karumbu, karumbu ver, kuhiyare, kusiyar, naishkar, noble sugarcane, qasab el-sokkar, satangsusu, sato-kibi, serdi, sheradi, sherdi, sockerrör, sucrose, sugar cane, sugar cane|uk, sugar-cane, sugarcane, tisnak, t??arasa, us, ush, zukerrohr.

Synonyms

Arundo saccharifera Garsault Saccharifera officinalis Stokes Saccharum atrorubens Cuzent & Pancher e