This native, stout-stemmed, solitary annual grows up to 9 feet tall. Straplike leaves are up to 36 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Unisexual flowers occur on open, many-branched pyramidal panicles up to 24 inches long and 12 inches wide. Male flowers are on lower branches which spread widely and droop at maturity (C). The numerous single-flowered female spikelets are on erect branches at the top (B).
Ditches and edges of ponds, streams and marshes, often in shallow water. Wild Rice is rare. It has not been observed since 2002 when these photos were taken in the wetland at the entrance to Handsome Hollow in Fontenelle Forest. The authors would appreciate reports of any observations of this plant. Flowering occurs in July and August.
Wild Rice was an important food source for Native Americans of the Great Lakes region who boiled and ate it with beans, corn or squash. Once considered a gourmet food, it is now cultivated and available in many food stores. Wild Rice is an important wildlife food source for waterfowl, particularly Mallards, Black and Wood Ducks as well as songbirds including Bobolinks and Red-winged Blackbirds. Its importance as a food source is reflected in other common names for this species including Indian Wild Rice, Blackbird Oats and Marsh Oats.
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