

THE GAME BREEDER 



179 



wise. The base of the stem is in the 

 form of a stout hook and from it arise 

 the numerous fibrous roots which serve 

 mainly to anchor the plant to the bot- 

 tom. The flowers of wild rice usually 

 appear during the latter part of July, but 

 may be found as late even as November. 

 The appearance of the flower head is 



ends. A low rib runs along the whole 

 length of one side and a shallow groove 

 along the other. The husk of the seed 

 (fig. 2, B) has six longitudinal grooves 

 and a long pointed beak, the whole being 

 an inch and a half or sometimes even 

 more in length. The appearance of the 

 flower head, or of the grain, distin- 



Fig. 2— Wild Rice. 



very characteristic (fig. 1) ; the lower 

 branches, which bear the staminate or 

 male flowers, are widely separated and 

 stand out from the stem, while the upper 

 branches of pistillate flowers are erect 

 and more or less compactly grouped to- 

 gether. The grain (fig. 2, A) of wild 

 rice is from one-half to three-fourths of 

 an inch in length, slender, of uniform* 

 diameter, and with rounded or pointed 



guishes wild rice from any other aquatic 

 grass in its range.* 



Distribution 



Natural growths of wild rice have been 

 found from the northern end of Lake 

 Winnipeg eastward along the northern 

 shores of the Great Lakes and the St. 



*Bul. 50, 1903 ; Bui. 90, Pt. I, 1905. 



