Does Sugarcane Produce Seeds?

Yes, sugarcane does flower and produce seeds. Their seeds are usually white in color and look like a rice grain. For some hybrid cultivars, hybridizers have eliminated the seed production ability.

On the market, we may not see many sugarcane seed sellers because growers usually harvest the canes before they even yield seeds. This is because the sugar content inside the stem drops gradually when the plants begin flower and reproduce. Hence people harvest them before the sugar content runs low.

Sugarcane flowers can be white or purple. They bloom on the top like other grasses in plumes:

Here is a close-up on a sugarcane flower (S. robustum variety):

You could see some hair-like threads outside the flower.

I guess those are to help the flower fly off when seed is produced or attract some insects. The sugarcane petals are small and thin with a long stigma in the middle.

Here are their seeds:

Sugarcane seeds look like small dried fins. They are smooth and have a slight curved diamond shape on close-up.

When the seeds mature, they will turn from cream white to chestnut brown and won't crack. One seed measures about 0.5 mm x 1.5 mm (width x length) and weighs about 0.15-0.25 miligram.

In creating new varieties, cross-pollination is widely applied with good results. The flowering and seeding of sugarcane plants thus have a positive meaning for this purpose.

Responses to Readers' Questions

but is the sugarcane a fruit or vegetables

--> Thanks for your question. It is considered a type of perennial grass like bamboo. You can see more info here: Is sugarcane a fruit or vegetable.

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