MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 561 



2 mm. long. % — Rocky woods Florida, and southern Texas; West 

 and prairies, Florida Keys, southern Indies. 



TRIBE 10. ZIZANIEAE 

 121. ZIZANIA L. Wildrice 



Spikelets unisexual, 1-flowered, disarticulating from the pedicel; glumes 

 obsolete, represented by a small collarlike ridge; pistillate spikelet terete, 

 angled at maturity; lemma chartaceous, 3-nerved, tapering into a long slender 

 awn; palea 2-nerved, closely clasped by the lemma; grain cylindric, 1 to 2 

 cm. long; staminate spikelet soft; lemma 5-nerved, membranaceous, linear, 

 acuminate or awn-pointed; palea about as long as the lemma, 3-nerved; sta- 

 mens 6. Tall aquatic annuals or perennials, with flat blades and large terminal 

 panicles, the lower branches ascending or spreading, bearing the pendulous 

 staminate spikelets, the upper branches ascending, at maturity erect, bearing 

 appressed pistillate spikelets, the staminate spikelets early deciduous, the 

 pistillate spikelets tardily deciduous. Type species, Zizania aquatica. Name 

 from Zizanion, an old Greek name for a weed growing in grain, the tares of the 

 Scripture parable. 



The seeds of wildrice were used by the aborigines for food and are still 

 used to some extent by some of the northern tribes of Indians. Wildrice is 

 important as a food and as shelter for waterfowl and is sometimes planted for 

 this purpose in marshes on game preserves. The Chinese cultivate the Asiatic 

 species, Z. latifolia (Griseb.) Turcz., as the source of a vegetable which they 

 call kau sun. This consists of a thickened portion of the base of the culm, 

 the point of incipient fruiting of a smut fungus, Ustilago edulis. 



Plants annual, erect _... - 1. Z. aquatica. 



Plants perennial, long-decumbent at base - 2. Z. texana. 



1. Zizania aquatica L. Annual 



wildrice. (Fig. 813, B.) Annual; culms 



robust, usually 2 to 3 m. tall; blades to North Dakota, south to New 



elongate, 1 to 4 cm. wide, scaberulous; York and Nebraska, 

 ligule 10 to 15 mm. long; panicles Zizania aquatica var. interior 



mostly 30 to 50 cm. long, the branches Fassett. (Fig. 813, A.) Closely re- 



mostly 15 to 20 cm. long; lemma and sembling the species, or the blades 



palea of pistillate spikelet about 2 narrower; pistillate spikelet as in 



cm. long, thin, hispid throughout, var. angustifolia; intergrades in the 



O — Marshes and borders of streams Middle West. O — Michigan and 



and ponds, usually in shallow water, Indiana to North and South Dakota; 



Maine to Michigan and Illinois, Idaho. 



south to Florida and Louisiana; 2. Zizania texana Hitchc. Texas 



Idaho. wildrice. (Fig. 814.) Perennial; culm 



Zizania aquatica var. angusti- long-decumbent and rooting at base, 



folia Hitchc. Culms usually not 1 to 3 m. long; blades elongate, 3 



more than 1.5 m. tall; ligule 3 to 8 to 15 or even 20 mm. wide; panicle 



mm. long; blades usually not more 20 to 30 cm. long, narrow, the lower 



than 1 cm. wide; lemma and palea (staminate) branches ascending, 5 to 



of pistillate spikelet mostly larger, 10 cm. long; staminate spikelets 7 to 



firm, shining, hispid only on the 9 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; pistillate 



margin and nerves. O — Shallow spikelets about 1 cm. long, tapering 



water, Quebec and New Brunswick into an awn 1 to 2 cm. long. % 



