Sugar cane, or sugarcane, is any of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall perennial grasses of the genus, Saccharum, (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae). Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar and measure 2 to 6 meters (6 to 19 feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids.

About 195 countries grow the crop to produce 1,324.6 million tons (more than six times the amount of sugar beet produced). As of the year 2005, the world's largest producer of sugar cane by far is Brazil followed by India. Sugar cane is processed into products that include table sugar, Falernum, molasses, rum, cachaça (the national spirit of Brazil), and ethanol.

The bagasse that remains after sugar cane crushing may be burned to provide heat for the mill and electricity, typically sold to the consumer electricity grid. It may also, because of its high cellulose content, be used as raw material for paper, cardboard, and eating utensils that, because they are by-products, may be branded as "environmentally friendly." Sugarcane is indiginous to tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S.

barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea.

The thick stalk stores energy as sucrose in the sap. From this juice, sugar is extracted by evaporating the water. Crystallized sugar was reported 5000 years ago in India.

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