Zizania latifolia

Zizania latifolia, known as Manchurian wild rice (Chinese: 菰; pinyin: gū), is the only member of the wild rice genus Zizania native to Asia. 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 (simplified Chinese: 蒋; traditional Chinese: 蔣), one of the most common in China, derives from this crop.

Description

A grass which grows in water. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 1.2 m tall. It has stout rhizomes or underground stems buried in the mud. The internodes near the base are 6-8 cm long by 2 cm wide. The leaves are crowded towards the base of the plant. The leaf blade is 70-130 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The stems become swollen as the result of infection by a smut fungus. They are like a stubby bamboo shoots. They are harvested before the black fungus spores develop.

Edible Uses

The swollen stem bases, when infected with the smut fungus Ustilago esculenta, are eaten as a vegetable in Chinese cuisine. They must be harvested before the fungus begins producing spores, as the flesh deteriorates at that point. Parboiled then sautéed with other vegetables, they have a nutty flavour reminiscent of coconut. Because wild forms of this species have developed resistance to the smut, specially disease-susceptible cultivars are grown for this purpose. The seed can be cooked and used like rice in sweet or savoury dishes, or ground into flour for cakes and biscuits; it contains approximately 13.7% protein, 0.9% fat, 72.7% carbohydrate, and 0.7% ash. Young inflorescences are cooked and used as a vegetable. Young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked and have a pleasant sweet taste; they contain about 1% protein, 0.3% fat, 4.7% carbohydrate, and 0.7% ash. The root is also edible, though no further details are available.

Traditional Uses

The tender green shoots are sometimes used as a vegetable. They are shredded, sliced, boiled in soups or scalded and used in salads. The rhizomes and grains are also eaten in times of scarcity. The seeds are used like rice. The very young flowering stalk is cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The swollen infected culms are eaten as a vegetable. The enlarged tender shoots infested with the smut fungus Ustilago esculenta are eaten. The cucumber like infested shoots are harvested before any black vein appears.

Medicinal Uses

The shoots, roots, and seed are diuretic and febrifuge. The leaves are tonic.

Distribution

It suits warm temperate places. It is damaged by frost. It grows in stagnant water along the edges of pools. It grows in wetlands. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, China, India, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Myanmar, Northeastern India, Russia, SE Asia, Taiwan,

Cultivation

It is grown by dividing the clump.

Propagation

Seed must not be allowed to dry out, as viability is lost quickly — usually within 4 weeks. Store collected seed in jars of water in a cool place such as the salad compartment of a refrigerator. Sow in a greenhouse in spring, immersing pots so they are covered by about 5cm of water. When large enough to handle, prick seedlings out into individual pots and grow on in the greenhouse through their first winter. Plant out into permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division can also be done in spring; larger divisions can go directly into permanent positions, while smaller divisions are best potted up and grown on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until establishing well, then planted out in summer or the following spring.

Other Uses

The leaves are woven into mats.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. It is considered a delicacy. Flowers are sold in local markets.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Chinese wild rice, Eshing, Esing kambong, Gau sun, Ishing-kambong, Jiao bamboo shoot, Jiaobai, Jiaoer vegetable, Jiaoercai, Jiaosun, Kah peh sung, Kaw-sun, Makomo, Manchurian water-rice, Manchurian zizania, Perennial rice, Water grass, Water rice, White jiao, Zizania shoot

References (29)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 702 (As Zizania caduciflora)
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 47
• Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1909:385. 1909
• Devi, O.S., P. Komor & D. Das, 2010, A checklist of traditional edible bio-resources from Ima markets of Imphal Valley, Manipur, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(11): 1291-1296
• Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 184

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