Saccharum officinarum

Saccharum officinarum is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the sugarcane genus. Its stout stalks are rich in sucrose, a disaccharide sugar which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It originated in New Guinea, and is now cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide for the production of sugar, ethanol and other products.

S. officinarum is one of the most productive and most intensively cultivated kinds of sugarcane. It can interbreed with other sugarcane species, such as S. sinense and S. barberi. The major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids. About 70% of the sugar produced worldwide comes from S. officinarum and hybrids using this species.