Rank Species | Higher classification Oryza | |
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Similar Oryza, Oryza longistaminata, Oryza nivara, Oryza rufipogon, Grasses | ||
Oryza barthii, also called Barth's rice, wild rice, or African wild rice, is a grass in the rice genus Oryza. It is an annual, erect to semierect grass. It has leaves with a short ligule (<13 mm), and panicles that are compact to open, rarely having secondary branching. The inflorescence structure are large spikelets, 7.7-12.3 mm long and 2.3-3.5 mm wide, with strong awns (up to 20 cm long), usually red. The inflorescences have anthers 1.5–3 mm long.
This wild rice grows in sub-Saharan Africa, and is found in mopane or savanna woodland, savanna or fadama. O. barthii grows in deep water, seasonally flooded land, stagnant water, and slowly flowing water or pools; it prefers clay or black cotton soils, and is found in open habitats. It is the progenitor of cultivated Oryza glaberrima, African rice.
Recently, the genome of O. barthii was sequenced.
