African perennial rice
Oryza barthii

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

An annual cereal grass. It grows 60-120 cm tall. There are 3-8 nodes. It produces aerial roots from the lower nodes. The stems are spongy. The flower panicles are 20-35 cm long by 3-8 cm wide. There are many flowers. The grains fall off easily.

There are about 20 Oryza species. This is a diploid species with AgAg genome.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. Kano State, northern Nigeria. It grows in water. It grows in shallow ponds. It grows in wet grass savannah. It can be in flooded rice fields. It Ethiopia it grows at about 600 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The grain is eaten. It is used in kreb a grain mixture eaten in Sudan.

It is sometimes sold in local markets.

Edible parts

Seeds, cereal

How it is grown

It is harvested into baskets without cutting.

Its other names

Local names

Alumo, Bau, Bororo, Shinkafar gyado, Wild rice

Synonyms

Oryza breviligulata A Chev. & Roehr.; Oryza mezii Prodoehl; Oryza stapfii Roshev; Oryza sylvestris var. barthii A. Chev.; See Oryza perennis;