Species

Saccharum officinarum

Common Name(s)

sugar cane

Authority

Saccharum officinarum L.

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Structural Class

Grasses

Habitat

Sporadic weed - often on the margins of legal and illegal rubbish dumps, or found established at the base of garden refuse dumps bordering forest, mangrove swamps and gullies in northern New Zealand

Flowering

Rarely seen in New Zealand

Fruiting

Never seen in New Zealand

Year Naturalised

1989

Origin

Tropics - an anicent cultigen derived from past hybridism

Reason for Introduction

Ornamental and Cultural

Control Techniques

<b>Disposal Method</b><br>Dig up and brn<br><br>

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Long-lived perennial grass. Reproduction is exclusively vegetative through disassociation of rhizomes. No seed is produced in New Zealand (rarely throughout the world). Dispersed by dumping garden waste and rubbish.

Tolerances

Cold intolerant. Flourishes in open, damp, humid conditions. Tolerant of brackish water.

This page last updated on 26 Jul 2014