A tall tropical plant with thick fibrous stems that contain sweet juice, used to produce sugar, molasses, and other products.
Compound of 'sugar' (from Sanskrit 'sharkara' through Arabic and Persian) and 'cane' (from Latin 'canna,' a reed). Sugarcane cultivation spread from South Asia to the Caribbean via Arab trade networks.
Sugarcane literally shaped the modern world—it drove the plantation system, the transatlantic slave trade, the colonization of Caribbean islands, and today consumes more freshwater than any other crop. Few plants have had such profound historical impact on human suffering and global economics.
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