Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica)

Poaceae family

Wild rice is native to temperate North American wetlands, particularly from Texas northward to Manitoba and from the Rockies eastward to Maine and Nova Scotia. It is a cousin of the Asian rice genus Oryza. Wild rice was harvested extensively by Native Americans since prehistoric times. The name of the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin literally means "wild rice people". Wild rice has become increasingly popular over the last 20 years, due to its desirable nutty flavor and crunchy texture.

Wild rice is still not completely domesticated; the public breeding program at the University of Minnesota is still working to select heritable head types that are completely non-shattering. Nevertheless, enough breeding progress has been made that commercial wild rice production in California has now eclipsed the combination of native and commercial production in the Great Lakes region.