Saccarhum officinarum

This cultivated perennial grass is the producer of a valuable commercial product.  Although sugar cane cultivation is widespread, the plants' possible origin is Indo-Malaysia where it may have been developed from a wild ancestral type.  Presently the varieties available for commercial plantings are hybridized cultivars developed for disease resistance or for high yields.  Early Polynesians introduced sugar cane to Hawaii but many of the early varieties they introduced have been lost.  The first sugar company was formed on Kauai during the 1830's but small scale local processing was reported to have been going on prior to that date.  The resultant industry that developed from this initial venture on Kauai has had a tremendous social, economic, and political impact on Hawaii's history.