Nutritional Freshwater Life
82
Zizania aquatica (Linnaeus)
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Common name: Wild rice, Canada rice,
Indian rice, water oats.
Distribution: North America, China
(Memidex).
Habitat: Shallow water in small lakes
and slow-flowing streams.
Description: It is a very large, ribbonlike grass with stems 270 cm tall, thick
and  spongy. Leaf blades are straplike, 90–120 cm long to 5 cm wide and
smooth with margins sharply toothed.
Inflorescence is erect, very large, at stem
tip, to 260 cm long and 30 cm across,
spreading branches and branchlets,
lower branchlets drooping (male flowers),
upper branchlets pointing stiffly upward
(female flowers).  Spikelets and flowers  are numerous. The seeds are edible
and well known (Center for Aquatic and
Invasive Plants, University of Florida).
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (% DM)
Moisture
7.9–11.2
Protein
12.4–15.0
Fat
0.5–0.8
Ash
1.2–1.4
Crude fiber
0.6–1.1
Total carbohydrate
72.3–75.3
Amino Acids (% of Protein)
Alanine
6.2
Arginine
8.2
Aspartic acid
10.5
Cystine
0.3
Giutamic acid
19.3
Glvcine
4.9
Histidine
2.8
Isoleucine
4.4
Leucine
7.4
Lvsine
4.6
Methionine
3.0
Phenylalanine
5.1
Proline
3.9
Serine
5.4
Threonine
3.2
Tyrosine
4.0
Valine
7.0
Source: Data from Anderson (1976).
Fatty Acids (g/100 g)
Total Fat
SFA
PUFA
MUFA
1.1
0.2
0.7
0.2
Source: Data from U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Nutrient Database
for Standard Reference, Standard
Release 26.