Photo by Tim Messick on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Wild rice
Zizania palustris
- When
- Typically August – September — August, September. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Shallow, slow lakes and rivers of the upper Midwest and Ontario.
- How to know it
- Tall grass standing above the water with a branching seed head; grain is long, dark and slips free when ripe.
- Look-alikes
- None dangerous.
- Harvest and use
- Harvested from a canoe with knocking sticks, then parched and winnowed.
- Caution
- Culturally and legally protected. In Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario, ricing is regulated and reserved in many waters for Indigenous harvesters — check before you go.
Found in these regions
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.