Wild rice (manoomin)

Zizania palustris

The sacred grain of the Anishinaabe, knocked into canoes from lake shallows each late summer.

Type: herb or perennial · native and wild plants
Hardiness: zones 3 to 8
Light: full sun
Size: about 6 ft tall, 1 ft wide
Harvest: August to September
From: Great Lakes
Here: Hardy in the Lake Erie shore climate (zone 6b to 7a), so it can live outdoors in the ground.

Good for: food, wildlife.

Native to: Midwest & Great Lakes, Eastern Canada. Hardy in zones 3 to 8.

The story

Manoomin, wild rice, is sacred to the Anishinaabe, whose migration story tells them to travel west until they found the food that grows on water. Each late summer, ricers pole canoes through the shallows and knock the ripe grain in with cedar sticks, then parch it over fire. It still grows in the western Great Lakes.

Planting

Shallow, slow-moving water 1 to 3 feet deep with a soft mucky bottom, in full sun. Sow fresh seed in autumn, pressed into the mud; seed must never dry out.

Growing

Needs clean, cold water and a winter freeze. It is an annual and reseeds itself; water levels that rise too quickly in early summer can drown it.

Harvest and use

Harvest from a canoe in late August or September, knocking the heads gently. Dry, parch, then thresh (traditionally by 'jigging' with feet) and winnow.

What to watch for

Respect tribal harvesting rights; buy hand-harvested manoomin from tribal sources.

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General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home