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Poaceae FAMILY

Zizania aquatica

Zizania aquatica

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
GrowthFast

Easily grown in water up to 60cm deep, it tolerates water up to 1 metre deep though it prefers growing in water 10 - 20cm deep[1]. It dislikes stagnant water[2]. A very ornamental plant[3], it grows, flowers and fruits well in the lake and lily pond at Kew[1]. Plants can self-sow in Britain, but the seed tends to germinate too late to mature a fresh crop of seed in this country, so the plant gradually dies out[1]. It would possibly maintain itself in areas such as the Isle of Wight, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk[1]. It is a very hardy plant, the seed survives being frozen in ice[1]. Plants grown at a 30cm square spacing can produce 20 or more flowering shoots[1]. Often collected from the wild, this plant is now being cultivated commercially for its edible seed[4]. It is considered a gourmet's delicacy and is sold in many parts of the world, usually in health food shops and usually at a very high price[1]. Plants require protection from wild fowl otherwise they will devour the young growth[1]. Plants are occasionally sown by lakes and rivers in Europe to attract wild fowl[5].

Propagation

Seed - it must not be allowed to dry out or it will quickly lose its viability, usually within 4 weeks[1]. Store collected seed in jars of water in a cool place such as the salad compartment of a fridge. Sow the seed in spring. Immerse the pots so that they are covered by about 5cm of water. It is best to sow 2 seeds per 7cm pot in a greenhouse in order to get early germination and a better chance of a crop[1]. Pot on as required and plant out about 30cm square in May, by which time the plants should be 20 - 30cm tall[1]. Larger quantities can be sown in shallow boxes and plunged into the pond etc in May. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Zizania+aquatica>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Kew Bulletin. 1909 — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. · 1909 · ISBN - ↩︎An interesting article on growing wild rice, Zizania aquatica and Z. latifolia.
  2. [2]Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. — Riotte. L. · Garden Way, Vermont, USA. · 1978 · ISBN 0-88266-064-0 ↩︎Fairly good.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  5. [5]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  6. [6]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  7. [7]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. — Saunders. C. F. · Dover Publications · 1976 · ISBN 0-486-23310-3 ↩︎Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.
  9. [9]Wild Food Plants of Indiana. — McPherson. A. and S. · Indiana University Press · 1977 · ISBN 0-253-28925-4 ↩︎A nice pocket guide to this region of America.
  10. [10]Wonder Crops. 1987. — Natural Food Institute, ↩︎Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.
  11. [11]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.