''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
plants of the
broomsedge tribe within the
grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
.
The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...
,
Australia, the
Americas, and assorted oceanic islands. Several species are cultivated and naturalized in areas outside their native habitats.
[Welker, C. A. D. & H. M. Longhi-Wagner. 2012. The genera ''Eriochrysis'' P. Beauv., ''Imperata'' Cirillo and ''Saccharum'' L. (Poaceae - Andropogoneae - Saccharinae) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Botany 35(1): 87–105.]
''Saccharum'' includes the sugarcanes. They have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are generally rich in sugar, and measure two to six m (6 to 19 ft) tall. All sugarcane species interbreed and the major commercial cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
s are complex hybrids.
Species
, Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched