SUGAR CANE
Saccharum officinarum L. (Poaceae).
Given its scientific name by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753, who described the species using drawings of specimens of cultivated sugar cane collected by Sir Hans Sloane in Jamaica in the 1680s.
Known only from cultivation, the centre of genetic diversity is in New Guinea.
Life form:
perennial grass.
Parts used: stems used for the extraction of sugar; also used as forage and as fuel.
Ploidy level: polyploid based on a basic number of 10; cultivated canes are
tetraploid, octoploid or even higher
ploidy levels.
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