What is Zizania caduciflora?

Zizania latifolia is also called high melon, wild bamboo shoot, wild bamboo hand, wild bamboo shoot, high bamboo shoot, etc. It is a perennial perennial herb of the genus Zizania of Gramineae. The ancients called it "wild". Before the Tang Dynasty, it was cultivated as a food crop. The seed was called wild rice or carved Hu, one of the "six grains"(rice, millet, millet, wheat, wild rice). Later, it was found that some wild rice did not head due to infection with Ustilago, and the plants had no disease, the stems continued to expand, gradually forming spindle-shaped fleshy stems, which are now eaten Zizania latifolia.

Zizania latifolia has rhizomes. The above-ground stems can produce 23 tillers and form clusters of branches. The stems are upright and robust. There are adventitious roots at the base. After the main stems and tillers enter reproductive growth, if there is Ustilago parasitism at the base, they cannot grow normally and form oval or nearly round fleshy stems. Leaf blade flattened, long lanceolate, apex awn-acuminate, base slightly adducted or tapering, generally scabrous above and margin, smooth below, midvein raised abaxially. The leaf sheaths are long and plump, embracing each other to form "pseudostems." Flowering season autumn and winter, panicle big, caryopsis cylindrical.

Zizania latifolia is a thermophilic plant, suitable for growth temperature of 10~25℃, not resistant to cold, high temperature and drought. In plain area, double-season Zizania latifolia is planted more often, but it has less strict requirements on sunshine length and higher requirements on water and fertilizer conditions, and temperature is an important factor affecting pregnancy. Zizania latifolia has developed root system and needs more water. It is suitable for clay loam or loam with sufficient water source, convenient irrigation, deep and soft soil layer, fertile soil, rich organic matter and strong ability to keep water and fertilizer.

Zizania latifolia is native to China and Southeast Asia. At present, Zizania latifolia is cultivated as a vegetable only in China and Vietnam. Among them, it is cultivated earliest in China. It is distributed in northern and southern parts of China. Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Heilongjiang and other places are planted. Yuyao Zizania latifolia is the most famous in Hemudu Town, with an annual output of 50,000 tons of Zizania latifolia. The pollution-free Zizania latifolia base in Hemudu Town has been listed as the second-class vegetable base in Ningbo City, the Zizania latifolia supply base of Shanghai Vegetable Group and the high-quality and high-efficiency agricultural demonstration base in Zhejiang Province.

Zizania latifolia mainly contains protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin E, trace carotene and minerals, etc. The organic nitrogen of tender Zizania latifolia exists in amino acid state, and can provide sulfur element, delicious taste, high nutritional value, easy to be absorbed by human body, but because Zizania latifolia contains more oxalic acid, its calcium is not easy to be absorbed by human body. Medical Zizania latifolia is used for clearing damp heat, detoxifying and promoting lactation. Stigmasterol in it can remove active oxygen in the body, inhibit tyrosinase activity, prevent melanin generation, soften cuticle on skin surface, and make skin smooth and delicate.