Sugarcane

-
Sugarcane, tall tropical perennials (species of Saccharum, chiefly S. officinarum) of the family Gramineae (grass family), probably cultivated in their native Asia from prehistoric times. Sugarcane somewhat resembles corn and sorghum, with a large terminal panicle and a noded stalk. In biblical times, one of the known sweetening agents in the world was honey. It was not until the Middle Ages that the "Indian honey-bearing reed" was introduced to the Middle East and became accessible to Europe, where sugar was sold from druggists' shelves as a costly medicinal or luxury. Later, sugarcane plants were introduced by Spanish and Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th cent. throughout the Old and New World tropics, and the large cane industry rapidly took shape. Today, sugarcane and the sugar beet (see beet), a temperate plant developed as a commercial sugar source c.1800, are the only two major economic sources of sugar. Cuba and India together produce a large percentage of the world's tropical sugar, cane sugar. Cane is harvested by cutting down the plant stalks, which are then pressed several times to extract the juice. The juice is concentrated by evaporation into dark, sticky sugar, often sold locally. Refined sugar, less nourishing as food, is obtained by precipitating out the non-sugar components. Almost pure sucrose, it is the main commercial product. Byproducts obtained from sugarcane include molasses, rum, alcohol, fuel, livestock feed, and from the stalk residue, paper and wallboard. Sugarcane is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Poaceae (Gramineae).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plant: Cell Structure And Function

-
Image
Plant Cell Plant cells contain a variety of membrane-bound structures called organelles. These include a nucleus that carries genetic material; mitochondria that generate energy; ribosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum that manufacture proteins; smooth endoplasmic reticulum that manufactures lipids used for making membranes and storing energy; and a thin lipid membrane that surrounds the cell. Plant cells also contain chloroplasts that capture energy from sunlight and a single fluid-filled vacuole that stores compounds and helps in plant growth. Plant cells are surrounded by a rigid cell wall that protects the cell and maintains its shape. The tremendous variety of plant species is, in part, a reflection of the many distinct cell types that make up individual plants. Fundamental similarities exist among all these cell types, however, and these similarities indicate the common origin and the interrelationships of the different plant species. Each individual plant cell is at ...
Read more

Monocot and Dicot Seeds

-
Image
Monocotyledons (monocots) and dicotyledons (dicots) make up the two large groups of flowering plants, differentiated by their seed structures. Monocot seeds contain one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf. When these seeds germinate, the cotyledon remains below ground, absorbing nutrients from the endosperm, the starchy food supply in the seed. The coytledon transports these nutrients to the developing seedling. Dicot seeds contain two coytledons, which absorb and store the nutrients from the endosperm before the seed germinates. The cotyledons, thick with stored nutrients, emerge above ground during germination, and then transport the stored nutrients to the developing seedling. For a brief time, the cotyledons also serve as the first photosynthesizing leaves, but they wither and die when the true leaves emerge. related articles: flower flower variations in structure flower sexual reproduction flower pollination and fertilization flowering and the life cycle evolution of flowers angios...
Read more

Insectivorous Plants

-
Image
Insectivorous Plants, also carnivorous plants, plants that gain some of their nutrition from animals, especially insects, captured by the plants themselves. Most occur in bogs where the soil is acid and poor in available nitrogen; capturing insects is one way of getting nitrogenous compounds without manufacturing them. At the same time, the green leaves of these plants manufacture carbohydrates. The trapping mechanism of insectivorous plants is relatively small. Therefore, prey is almost inevitably limited to small insects. Insectivorous plants are diverse and represent members of three orders of dicots : Nepenthales, Scrophulariales, and Rosales. A majority are in the Nepenthales, including the pitcher plant , sundews and the Venus's-flytrap, and East Indian pitcher plants. Others include the bladderworts, butterworts, and the Australian pitcher plant. Discussed below are the sundews and bladderworts. Certain species of fungus are known to be carnivorous as well. Venus’s-Flytrap...
Read more