Zizania latifolia

Zizania latifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Ehrhartoideae[1]
Tribe: Oryzeae[1]
Genus: Zizania
Species: Z. latifolia
Binomial name
Zizania latifolia
(Griseb.) Turcz. ex Stapf
Synonyms
  • Hydropyrum latifolium
  • Zizania caduciflora

Zizania latifolia, known as Manchurian wildrice[2] (Chinese: 菰; pinyin: gū), is the only member of the wild rice genus Zizania native to Asia. It is used as a food plant, with both the stem and grain being edible. Gathered from the wild, was once an important grain in ancient China.[3]:165 A wetland plant, Manchurian wild rice is now very rare in the wild, and its use as a grain has completely disappeared in China, though it continues to be cultivated for its stems.[3]:165 A measure is its former popularity is that the surname Jiǎng (Trad. 蔣, Simp. 蒋), one of the most common in China, derives from this crop.

Cultivation

Vegetables: Zizania latifolia stems peeled and unpeeled.

Zizania latifolia is grown as an agricultural crop across Asia. The success of the crop depends on the smut fungus Ustilago esculenta. The grass is not grown for its grain, as are other wild rice species, but for the stems, which swell into juicy galls when infected with the smut. When the fungus invades the host plant it causes it to hypertrophy; its cells increasing in size and number. Infection with U. esculenta prevents the plant from flowering and setting seed so the crop is propagated asexually, by rhizome. New sprouts are infected by spores in the environment, which is generally a paddy.[4] The galled stems are harvested as a vegetable called gau-soon and kal-peh-soon[4] (also, gau sun and kah peh sung)[5] and jiaobai in China.[6] Its Japanese name is makomotake.[7] The galled section of the stem is 3 to 4 centimeters (1.2 to 1.6 in) wide and up to 20 centimeters (10 in) long.[8] This vegetable has been grown for centuries in China,[5] at least 400 years.[9] It is popular for its flavor and tender texture,[10] and it is eaten raw or cooked. It stays crisp when stir-fried.[11] The main harvesting season is between September and November. This is also typhoon season in parts of Asia, a time when many other vegetables are unavailable. This makes the product more attractive to consumers.[8]

Cooked grains

Invasive species

It been accidentally introduced into the wild in New Zealand and is considered an invasive species there.[12] It has been introduced into Hawaii. Importation of the stems to the United States is prohibited in order to protect the North American wild rice species from the fungus.

References

  1. 1 2 Kellogg, Elizabeth A. (30 January 2009). "The Evolutionary History of Ehrhartoideae, Oryzeae, and Oryza". Rice 2: 1–14. doi:10.1007/s12284-009-9022-2. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. 1 2 Simoons, Frederick J. (1991). Food in China: a cultural and historical inquiry. CRC Press. p. 559. ISBN 978-0-8493-8804-0.
  4. 1 2 Chung, K. R. and D. D. Tzeng. (2004). Biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid by the gall-inducing fungus Ustilago esculenta. Journal of Biological Sciences 4(6) 744–50.
  5. 1 2 Terrell, E. E. and L. R. Batra. (1982). Zizania latifolia and Ustilago esculenta, a grass-fungus association. Economic Botany 36(3) 274–85.
  6. ↑ Jing-Ze, Z., et al. (2012). Cytology and ultrastructure of interactions between Ustilago esculenta and Zizania latifolia. Mycological Progress 11(2) 499–508.
  7. ↑ Kawagishi, H., et al. (2006). Osteoclast-forming suppressive compounds from makomotake, Zizania latifolia infected with Ustilago esculenta. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 70(11) 2800-02.
  8. 1 2 Chung, K. and D. D. Tzeng. (2004). Nutritional requirements of the edible gall-producing fungus Ustilago esculenta. Journal of Biological Sciences 4(2) 246–52.
  9. ↑ Oritani, Y., et al. Manchurian wild rice (Zizania latifolia) infected with Ustilago esculenta stimulates innate immune system, via induction of human β-defensin-2. ISHS Acta Horticulturae 841: II International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables: FAVHEALTH 2007.
  10. ↑ You, W., et al. (2011). Morphological and molecular differences in two strains of Ustilago esculenta. Current Microbiology 62 44–54.
  11. ↑ Yamaguchi, M. 1990. Asian Vegetables. pp. 387–390. In: Janick, J. and J. E. Simon, Eds. Advances in New Crops. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  12. ↑ NIWA: Stopping the freshwater wild rice invader
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