SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM

FAMILY :: GRAMINEAE
SUGAR-CANE: Large tropical perennial grass (to 12′ tall) widely grown for the production of sugar. Almost bamboo-like in appearance with 2″ wide, 3′ long leaves. Requires 18 months to produce sugar canes but may be easily grown as a specimen plant anywhere without solid freezes. This plant represents the first instance in the history of humanity where one ethnic group (Christian European colonialists) capitalized, so to speak, on large scale slavery for its cultivation.

The distillate of this plant in Mexico, Aqua diente, is, along with Tobacco, the most often used tool of local shamans.

Anyone wanting a large windscreen or shade planting of a bamboo-like plant (without bamboo’s tendency of spreading) would be wise to plant sugar cane. It will produce large, multiple canes in small pots. It likes sun and water and frequent fertilizing but is a no-brainer for brown-thumbers.