Saccharum
(saccharon is the old Greek name for sugar; it is derived from the Sanscrit carkara). ORD. Gramineoe. A genus comprising about a dozen species of tall, mostly stove grasses, inhabiting tropical and sub-tropical regions. Spikelets at the sides of the branchlets, dense, or ample and twin, one sessile, the other pedicellate; glumes four, three of which are empty, acute or somewhat bristly-acuminate; panicle terminal, densely pilose, sometimes ample and densely bundle-flowered, sometimes contracted into a dense spike. Leaves flat or narrow, convolute when dry. The most important species is S. officinarum, the Sugar Cane of commerce, one of our most valuable economic productions. It has been cultivated from time immemorial. The manufacture of sugar is supposed to have been derived from China. Some of the species are ornamental plants; a selection of the best-known is given below. They are all of simple culture in a light, rich soil, with a good heat. Propagation may be effected by suckers; or by cuttings of the stems, which will throw out shoots at their joints. The under-mentioned species require stove treatment, except where otherwise stated.
S. aegyptiacum (Egyptian).* fl., panicle silvery-silky, crowded; 10in. to 12in. long; lower branches compound. July. l. numerous, long, ribbon-like, with a white midrib, and covered with soft, silky hairs, which impart a greyish appearance to the plants. Stems about 7ft. high. Algeria, 1866. A vigorous grass, forming a gigantic tuft, and rivalling Bambusa, Erianthus, and Gynerium. See Fig. 400 (page 339).
S. Munja (Munja). fl. all hermaphrodite; panicle large, oblong, spreading, the branches whorled, supra-decompound. Summer. l. hispid, marginate, long-linear, white-nerved, channelled. Stems 8ft. to 10ft. high. Benares, 1805. Plant wholly glabrous, except on the inside of the leaves at base.
S. officinarum (officinal). Sugar Cane. fl., palea half as long as the third glume; outer glumes pointed, half to one third as long as the wool; panicle large, pyramidal, the common axis sulcate, the joints and pedicels glabrous below the wool. July. l. long and broad, dark green, hanging in graceful curves. Stems yellowish-green, stout, erect. h. 10ft. East Indies, 1597.
S. o. violaceum (violet). fl., midrib of the second glume suppressed. Stems of a rich violet or plum-colour. West Indies, 1824.
S. procerum (tall). fl., panicle diffuse, the branches whorled, compound and decompound. July. l. ensiform, the midrib white, the margins slightly hispid. Stems erect, 10ft. to 20ft. high. Bengal, 1822. This is allied to S. officinarum.
S. sinense (Chinese). fl. bivalved, unilateral; panicle ovate, the branches whorled, simple and compound. Stems 6ft. to 10ft. high. China, 1822. Greenhouse.