Sugarcane

In your exploration of edible plants, the world's largest sugar supplier, sugarcane, should not be missed. In the tropics, these plants can grow up to 6 m tall with 5 cm thick stalks, packed with sweetness! In our climate, due to its frost sensitivity, cultivation is only possible in (large) pots. Outdoors in summer and indoors in autumn in a bright, not too warm place. After 1 year, a thicker stalk can occasionally be harvested: a delicious chew, a natural candy!
Sugarcane originated in Indonesia and spread from there throughout tropical Asia. Alexander the Great brought the plant to Greece, amazed by this "reed that makes honey without bees"... Later, the Arabs, in particular, spread its cultivation, after which Europeans brought it to Central and South America. Unfortunately, much of this involved slave labor in the 17th-19th centuries.

Names:
Latin: Saccharum officinarum
Dutch: Suikerriet
English: Sugar Cane