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Annual Wild Rice

Zizania aquatica

Annual Wildrice Locations in North America
Annual Wildrice Locations in Southeast US
Annual wild rice diagram

annual wild rice side view
annual wild rice fruit

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration courtesy of University of Florida/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. Used with permission.

What is Annual Wild Rice?

Physical Characteristics

Leaves:

  • Very large grass
  • Strap-like
  • 3-4 feet long
  • Up to 2 inches wide
  • Smooth
  • Sharp edges

Flowers:

  • Large
  • Branching
  • Upright
  • Up to 2 feet long
  • Up to 1 foot across
  • Many flowered

Fruit:

  • Edible grains
  • Oval shaped
  • Yellow or reddish in color

Stem:

  • Up to 9 feet tall
  • Spongy
  • Thick

Where Does it Grow?

Annual wild rice can be found along the edges of marshes and streams.

Pros and Cons of Annual Wild Rice

Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.

How to Manage This Plant
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Photo Credits: The majority of the aquatic plant line drawings are the copyright of the University of Florida Center for Aquatic Plants (Gainsville). They are used with permission.

Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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