''Zizania latifolia'', known as Manchurian wild rice (), is the only member of the wild rice genus ''

Zizania Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

'' native to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. It is used as a food plant. Both the stem and grain are edible. Gathered in the wild, Manchurian wild rice was an important grain in ancient China. A wetland plant, Manchurian wild rice is now very rare in the wild, and its use as a grain has completely disappeared in Asia, though it continues to be cultivated for its stems. A measure of its former popularity is that the surname Jiǎng (), one of the most common in China, derives from this crop.

Cultivation

''Zizania latifolia'' is grown as an agricultural

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

across Asia. The success of the crop depends on the smut fungus ''

Ustilago esculenta ''Ustilago esculenta'' is a species of fungus in the Ustilaginaceae, a family of smut fungi. It is in the same genus as the fungi that cause corn smut, loose smut of barley, false loose smut, covered smut of barley, loose smut of oats, and o ...

''. The grass is not grown for its grain, as are other

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

species, but for the stems, which swell into juicy

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

s when infected with the smut. When the fungus invades the host plant it causes it to

hypertrophy Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It is distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number.Updated by Linda J ...

; its cells increasing in size and number. Infection with ''U. esculenta'' prevents the plant from flowering and setting seed so the crop is propagated asexually, by

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. New sprouts are infected by spores in the environment, which is generally a paddy.Chung, K. R. and D. D. Tzeng. (2004)
Biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid by the gall-inducing fungus ''Ustilago esculenta''.
''Journal of Biological Sciences'' 4(6) 744–50. The galled stems are harvested as a

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

known as in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Its

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

name is ''makomotake''. The galled section of the stem is wide and up to long. This vegetable has been grown for at least 400 years.Oritani, Y., et al
Manchurian wild rice (''Zizania latifolia'') infected with ''Ustilago esculenta'' stimulates innate immune system, via induction of human β-defensin-2.
''ISHS Acta Horticulturae'' 841: II International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables: FAVHEALTH 2007. It is popular for its flavor and tender texture, and it is eaten raw or cooked. Its taste resembles fresh bamboo shoots. It stays crisp when

stir-fried Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...

.Yamaguchi, M. 1990
Asian Vegetables.
pp. 387–390. In: Janick, J. and J. E. Simon, Eds. ''Advances in New Crops''. Timber Press, Portland, OR. The main harvesting season is between September and November. This is

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

season in parts of Asia, a time when many other vegetables are unavailable. This makes the product more attractive to consumers. Zizania latifolia in cultivation

Invasive species

It has been accidentally introduced into the wild in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and is considered an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

there. It has been introduced into

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Importation of the stems to the United States is prohibited in order to protect the North American wild rice species from the fungus.

Research

This wild rice can be crossed with ordinary

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

by protoplast fusion. Manual "repeated pollination", a different approach, produces fertile offspring with ~0.1% wild rice DNA. The genome of the species was initially sequenced in 2015. In 2022, a new sequencing project produced a chromosome-level (2n=2x=34) assembly.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15896429 Flora of Myanmar Flora of China Flora of Assam (region) Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Flora of Siberia Flora of Taiwan Flora of Vietnam Cereals Rice Oryzoideae Stem vegetables