Ko

Aloha! I’m Ko, more commonly known as sugarcane. I’m a large grass with blades and a hard stalk, and my stems usually grow to 10-15 ft tall. I was brought to the islands by native Hawaiians thousands of years ago, and since I got here, I’ve developed dozens of native varieties! The color of my stalks ranges from light yellow to dark red depending on the subspecies. I make a great, productive, and cool-looking addition to any farm or garden!

Likes

• Full sun

• Lots of rain and watering

• High humidity

• Heat, my optimum growing temperature is about 90 degrees

Occupation:

I work really hard in agriculture all over the world! I make almost 80% of global sugar, and am the world’s largest crop by production quantity. I’m grown and harvested in many tropical and subtropical regions, like Brazil, India, and New Guinea. In Hawaii, I retired from commercial cultivation back in 2016, when the state’s last sugar plantation shut down. 

My main use is as a food sweetener, but in Hawaiian culture, I can also be used medicinally. Traditionally, children were told to chew on my stalks to strengthen their teeth, and of course, I also make medicines taste better.