In earlier times, sugar was used as a sedative, but today it is associated with a number of health problems. Nevertheless it remains a popular food and flavoring. Sucrose is the main sugar in the sap of plants. It is present in all green plants, but almost all commercially made sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets. The sugar beet is a species of beet that can be grown in temperate or cold climates, where sugarcane will not grow.
Sugar is stored in the tapering, white roots of the beet.
Sugar cane is a giant, thick, perennial grass cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide for its sweet sap. The plant grows in clumps of solid stalks and has graceful, sword-shaped leaves that resemble those of the corn plant. Mature canes may be 10 to 26 feet tall and 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The color of the stalk ranges from almost white to yellow to deep green, purple, red, or violet. The sugar from sugar cane is transformed into sugar in two stages.