- Region
- North America
- Origin
- Shallow lakes and slow rivers around the Great Lakes and in southern Canada
- Traditions
- Anishinaabe medicine
North America · Food · № 965
Zizania palustris (en Z. aquatica)
Food · North America
Wild rice
Zizania palustris (en Z. aquatica)
An aquatic grass, not true rice. The long, dark grain contains more protein and fibre than white rice.
Safety notes
Cultivated 'wild rice' from California and Minnesota is a different crop from the hand-harvested grain of the lakes. Prefer rice from Indigenous harvesters.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) medicine: Choose rice from Indigenous harvesters; cultivated 'wild rice' is a different crop.
Preparation
Rinse the parched grain and simmer for about forty minutes, until the kernels split open.
Use in traditions
Manoomin is the sacred food of the Anishinaabeg. According to their tradition they travelled from the Atlantic coast to 'the place where food grows on the water'. In autumn they harvest it from a canoe: one person poles the boat along, the other bends the heads over the side with two sticks and knocks the ripe grains loose. The grain is then dried, parched and threshed.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) medicine
Attributed effects
Manoomin, the sacred food for which, according to their tradition, the Anishinaabeg travelled west from the Atlantic coast.
Preparation and amount
Harvest from a canoe in autumn, dry, parch and thresh; then simmer.
Caution: Choose rice from Indigenous harvesters; cultivated 'wild rice' is a different crop.