Sugarcane

plants · agriculture · grass family

Tall grass giant. Sugarcane is a perennial grass that grows 2 to 7 meters tall, making it about as tall as a two-story house. It belongs to the same grass family as corn, wheat, and rice.

Sweet juice inside. The stalks are filled with sucrose, a type of sugar that gets concentrated in the middle sections of each stalk. This is where the sweetness comes from that we turn into sugar and use in food.

New Guinea home. Sugarcane originally came from New Guinea but is now grown in warm places all over the world. Today it's one of the most important crops for making sugar and other products.

Jointed and fibrous. Each stalk has joints along it and is made of strong, fiber-filled material that's tough and sturdy. This sturdy structure helps the plant stand tall in tropical climates.