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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Wild Rice
| image = WildRice23.jpg
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Poales]]
| familia = [[Poaceae]]
| genus = '''''Zizania'''''
| genus_authority = Gronov. ex [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Zizania aquatica]]''<br>
''[[Zizania latifolia]]''<br>
''[[Zizania palustris]]''<br>
''[[Texas Wild-rice|Zizania texana]]''
}}

The four species of '''wild rice''' compose the genus '''''Zizania''''' (common names: ''Canada rice'', ''Indian rice'', and ''water oats''), a group of [[Poaceae|grasses]] that grow in shallow [[water]] in small [[lake]]s and slow-flowing [[stream]]s. Often, only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. True [[rice]], genus [[Oryza]], is also a grass; the two genera Oryza and Zizania are closely related, sharing the [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Oryzeae]]. Three species of wild rice are native to [[North America]]:
* '''Northern wild rice''' (''Zizania palustris'') is an [[annual plant]] native to the [[Great Lakes (North America)|Great Lakes]] region of North America. Northern wild rice is the [[state symbols|state grain]] of the [[United States|U.S.]] [[state (United States)|state]] of [[Minnesota]].
* '''Wild rice''' (''Z. aquatica''), also an annual, grows in the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] coasts of the [[United States]].
* '''Texas wild rice''' (''Z. texana'') is a [[perennial plant]] only found in a small area along the [[San Marcos River]] in central [[Texas]].
and one species is native to [[Asia]]:
* '''Manchurian wild rice''' (''Z. latifolia''; incorrect synonym: ''Z. caduciflora''), is a perennial native to [[China]].

Texas wild rice is in danger of [[extinction]] due to loss of suitable habitat in its limited range and [[pollution]]. Manchurian wild rice has almost disappeared from the wild in its native range, but has been accidentally introduced into the wild in [[New Zealand]] and is considered an [[invasive species]] there[http://www.niwascience.co.nz/ncabb/abb/2003-05/invader].

==Use as a grain==
[[Image:wildriceraw.jpg|thumb|right|Uncooked wild rice.]]The [[seed]]s of the annual species zizania palustrus are the ones most commonly harvested as [[cereal|grain]]. [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] harvest wild rice by [[canoe]]ing into a stand of plants, and bending the ripe grain heads with wooden sticks called knockers, so as to [[threshing|thresh]] the seeds into the canoe. The size of the knockers, as well as other details, are prescribed in state and tribal law.
[[Image:Wildriceharvesting19thcentury.svg|thumb|left|Harvesting wild rice.]]
In Minnesota statute, knockers must be no more than one inch in diameter, thirty inches long, or more than one pound. The plants are not beaten with the knockers but require only a gently brushing to dislodge the mature grain. The [[Ojibwa]] call this plant "manoomin" or "good berry". Some seeds fell to the muddy bottom to overwinter and [[germinate]] in the spring. Wild rice and [[maize]] are the only [[cereal]] crops native to North America. It is a favourite food of [[dabbling duck]]s and other aquatic wildlife.

[[Image:wildricecooked.jpg|thumb|right|Cooked wild rice.]]Almost always sold as a dried [[whole grain]], wild rice is high in [[protein]], the [[amino acid]] [[lysine]] and [[dietary fiber]], and low in [[fat]]. Like true rice, it does not contain [[gluten]]. It is also a good source of the minerals [[potassium]] and [[phosphorus]], and the vitamins [[thiamine]], [[riboflavin]] and [[niacin]]. Because commercial, paddy grown wild rice is harder and denser than true rice, it must be cooked longer to become soft enough to be eaten; it generally requires cooking for at least 45–60 minutes in a ratio of wild rice to water of approximately 1 to 3. Because of its comparatively high cost and chewy texture it is often cooked together with true rice, often in a ratio of true rice t
o wild rice of 8 to 1 or 4 to 1. Manoomin, on the other hand, is not nearly as hard as paddy rice, allowing it to be cooked in 15–30 minutes.<ref>[http://www.boisfortednr.com/wildrice/htmls/differences.html Bios Forte DNR] and [http://savewildrice.org/default.asp?active_page_id=32 Save Wild Rice]</ref> Those who have compared the taste and texture of the wild Manoomin to the cultivated wild rice nearly always prefer the Manoomin.

Because of its [[nutrition]]al value and taste, wild rice increased in popularity in the late [[20th century]], and commercial cultivation began in the US and [[Canada]] to supply the increased demand. In the United States the main producers are [[California]] and [[Minnesota]] (where it is the official state grain) and it is mainly cultivated in [[paddy field]]s. Canadian wild rice is usually harvested from natural bodies of water; the province of [[Saskatchewan]] is the largest producer in Canada. Wild rice is also produced in Hungary and [[Australia]].

Manchurian wild rice ({{zh-cp|c=菰|p=gū}}), gathered from the wild, was once an important grain in ancient [[China]]. Because of the difficulty of its domestication, it gradually lost importance with increasing population density, as its habitat was converted for use in raising rice. It is now very rare in the wild, and its use as a grain has completely disappeared in China, though it continues to be cultivated for its stems.

===Diseases===
{{Main|List of wild rice diseases}}

== Use as a vegetable ==
The swollen, crisp white stems of Manchurian wild rice are grown as a [[vegetable]], popular in [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asia|Southeast]] Asia. The swelling occurs because of infection with the [[smut (fungus)|smut fungus]] ''[[Ustilago esculenta]]''. The fungus prevents the plant from flowering, so the crop is [[plant propagation|propagated]] asexually, the infection being passed from mother plant to daughter plant. [[Harvest]] must be made between about 120 days and 170 days after planting, after the stem begins to swell but before the infection reaches its reproductive stage, when the stem will begin to turn [[black]] and eventually disintegrate.

The vegetable is especially common in [[China]], where it is known as '''''gaosun''''' ({{zh-cp|c=高笋|p=gāosǔn}}) or '''''jiaobai''''' ({{zh-cp|c=茭白|p=jiāobái}}). Other names which may be used in English include '''''coba''''', '''''makomo''''' ([[Japanese language|Japanese]]: マコモ), and '''water bamboo'''.

Importation of the vegetable to the [[United States]] is prohibited in order to protect [[North America]]n species from the fungus.

== Ornamental use ==
Wild rice is also grown as an [[ornamental plant]] in garden ponds.

== Culture==
*Several Native American cultures, such as the [[Ojibwa]], consider wild rice (known as ''manoomin'' in [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwa]]) to be a sacred component in their culture [http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200209/22_gundersond_wildrice-m/]. The rice is harvested by hand, with two people sitting in a canoe, with one knocking rice into the canoe with a pole while the other paddles slowly. For these groups, this harvest is an important cultural (and often economic) event.

*Zizania is the Greek term sometimes used to describe the plant otherwise known as [[darnel]] or [[ryegrass|tares]] in the [[Parable of the Weeds]] told by [[Jesus]]

==See also==
*[[Aquatic plants]]
*[[Camargue red rice]] - modern domesticated variety from the [[Camargue]] area of France.

==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>

== External links ==
* [http://www.ricewild.com.au Australian wild rice; infomation about cultivated wild rice in Australia]
* [http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=41318 ITIS 41318]
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Zizania.html Multilingual taxonomic information from the University of Melbourne]
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-387.html Asian Vegetables]
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Zizania_aquatica.html Zizania aquatica]
* [http://www.ynfumin.gov.cn/pubnews/doc/read/mytc/426843804.114108104/index.asp Photograph of rough harvested ''gaosun'' culms (not yet peeled)]

{{Cereals}}

[[Category:Canadian cuisine]]
[[Category:Cereals]]
[[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]]
[[Category:Flora of Minnesota|Rice, Wild]]
[[Category:Grasses]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Stem vegetables]]
[[Category:Rice]]
[[Category:Symbols of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Invasive plant species]]

Wild rice - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 10:00, 17 July 2007