Oryza sativa Seeds | Black Rice
LATIN NAME: Oryza sativa
COMMON NAME: Black Rice, Forbidden Rice
Plant Profile
Oryza sativa, commonly known as Black Rice, is a species with a long record in gardens. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. Taken as a whole, it is a plant that repays a little attention many times over.
Science & Biotechnology
Like other members of the Oryza group, Oryza sativa draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. It is the kind of species that plant scientists reach for when they need reliable material for propagation and selection studies.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Black Rice has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Its historical imperial association also gives it genuine cultural cachet beyond its culinary and nutritional appeal. After the first season it asks for very little beyond a place that suits it.
Rice feeds half the world, and its forms carry medicine: rice germ and bran supply gamma-oryzanol and vitamin E, red yeast rice contains natural monacolins, and sprouted brown rice is a studied functional food.
Growing from Seed
Black Rice is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Sow seed into a loose, consistently wet or waterlogged mix, since rice is naturally adapted to paddy-style cultivation with standing water during its growing season. Full sun and warm temperatures suit this crop well, and it requires considerably more consistent water management than most home garden crops to replicate its natural growing conditions successfully. Sow the seeds evenly over the surface and cover lightly in a loose, well-drained seed compost, keep the sowing evenly moist, and give the pot or tray full sun. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Black Rice, Forbidden Rice has real presence in the garden without demanding much in return. The essentials are simple: full sun, drainage and patience while it establishes.
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