Practical
Plants

Echinochloa colona

Jungle Rice

an annual member of the Echinochloa genus in the family Gramineae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Family
Gramineae
Life cycle
annual
Height
1 m
Fertility
Wind
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Wind

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - cooked[2][4][9]. Used as a millet[5]. The seed can be cooked whole or ground into a flour and used as a mush or porridge[7]. Young plants and shoots - raw or cooked[2][3]. Eaten raw with rice[5].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Seed

Environment

Range
Temperate sub-tropical and tropical zones.
Habitat
Waste places, cultivated fields and ditches in southern N. America where it is naturalized[10]. A weed of damp places and irrigated fields in China[8].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. A sowing in situ in late spring might also succeed but is unlikely to ripen a crop of seed if the summer is cool and wet.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it could succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a rich moist soil but should succeed in ordinary garden soil[1][11].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  3. Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4

    ↩

  4. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

    ↩

  5. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2

  6. Hitchcock. A. S. Manual of the Grasses of the United States Dover Publications. New York. 1971-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22717-0

  7. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩

  8. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

    ↩

  9. Manandhar. N. P. Plants and People of Nepal Timber Press. Oregon. 2002-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-527-6

    ↩

  10. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

  11. Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967-00-00 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9

    ↩

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