The plant known as wild rice, a distant relative of the cultivated rice plant, is Zizania aquatica. It grows in northeastern North America and its grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been a staple food of North American Indians. Both belong to the grass family, Gramineae. The plant has several stalks that bear long, flattened leaves. The panicle is erect when the flowers bloom, but begins to droop as the grains develop.
Rye is used chiefly as flour for bread and as livestock feed.
It is high in carbohydrates and provides small quantities of protein, potassium, and B vitamins. It is the only cereal other than wheat that has the qualities necessary for making a loaf of bread, but it is inferior to wheat for that purpose because it lacks elasticity. For that reason it is frequently blended with wheat flour in bread making. Rye is also used in the production of rye whiskey. As livestock feed, rye is usually mixed with other feeds.