Floral use of the spike or inflorescence of sugar cane

Abstract

Sugar cane is a perennial grass, with annual growth, which develops in the form of bushes, whose aerial part is made up of stems, leaves, inflorescences and seeds. Once the cane is mature, it is cut and industrialized to obtain sugar as the main product and the by-products molasses and bagasse. However, another product derived from sugar cane that can be marketed is the spike, used in floral arrangements as still life. 30 spikes of sugar cane were cut, and 10 bunches of three spikes each were made; then they were placed in vases inside a house. The quality of the flowers was qualitatively measured from 1 to 10 for 12 months. Over time, the quality of the spikes decreased, maintaining a good quality with a minimum score of 8 during the first 6 months; however, after 10 months, they can still be effectively used in floral arrangements. Therefore, it is concluded that the spike or flower of sugar cane has high possibilities of being used as a floral arrangement or as a still life.