Zizania sp.
Wild rice, Wild Rice
(c) Tim Messick, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Perennial · Not Native
Zizania sp. (Wild rice) is a non-native California perennial in the Poaceae family.
How to tell it apart
vs Phyllostachys: Zizania is a tall aquatic grass with open flower clusters; bamboo has woody stems and different flower structure.; vs Cortaderia: Zizania has smooth, separate male/female branches; pampas grass has huge fluffy unisexual plumes.; vs Arundo: Zizania has hairless flowers and vestigial glumes; giant reed has hairy flowers and normal glumes.; vs Phragmites: Zizania has smooth flowers with male/female branches; common reed has silky-hairy flowers in dense plumes.; vs Saccharum: Zizania has hairless flowers and no glumes; sugarcane has silky-hairy flowers with normal glumes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zizania sp. native to California?
No. Zizania sp. is not native to California (recorded as not native).
What plant family does Zizania sp. belong to?
Zizania sp. is in the Poaceae family, genus Zizania.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-04-14
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.