Sugar Cane

Sugar Canes (formerly called reeds, and sometimes called papyrus or bamboo) is an item, and an important crafting ingredient.

Obtaining
Sugar cane can be mined with any tool, or without a tool.

Natural generation
Sugar cane can generate naturally near water, mostly three blocks tall, but has a small chance to spawn four blocks tall and reportedly even up to seven blocks tall.

Farming


Sugar cane must be planted on a grass, dirt, sand, or red sand block that is directly adjacent to water (not merely above or diagonal to water). The adjacent water block can be covered with another block, whether opaque or transparent, and sugar cane will still be able to be placed and grow next to it. It can also be planted next to flowing water. It does not need light to grow. Sugar cane may grow to a maximum height of three blocks. The player can place sugar cane atop existing sugar cane blocks to make sugar cane of any height.

Usage
Due to its water-displacing properties, sugar cane can interestingly be used to create underwater paths, allowing players to move at normal speed and breathe if it is two blocks in height. Water must be adjacent to the block the sugar cane is placed on.

Video
Note: This video was made before the 1.7 changes.

Trivia

 * In the code, sugar cane is still referenced as "reeds", both the inventory edited block and the item. It is also called reed in the F3 screen.
 * In Beta 1.8's Creative Mode, giving yourself sugar cane yields the block, not the item itself. However, you can still place it.
 * Ghasts cannot see through sugar cane, while they can be shot through it, making it a safe block to use when making walls (however, remember sugar cane cannot be planted in the Nether without commands or an inventory/map editor, because there is no water, and no water can be placed there). A ghast's fireball will not pass through sugar cane, but it will collide with the sugar cane (and explode) as if it is a normal block.
 * Lily pads can be used to stop harvested sugar canes from sinking into the water, making them easier to collect.
 * When a sugar cane is broken at the second level, the time resets. (For example, if a two-high sugar cane is broken but is just about to grow to the third stage, it would reset that time)
 * In Minecraft Pocket Edition, this used to be the hardest block to find, due to the worlds not being infinite. However, this is no longer the case as of 0.9, due to infinite worlds being added.
 * In Minecraft Pocket Edition, you can use bone meal to help grow sugar cane. You cannot do this on PC.