Oryza sativa Seeds | Upland Rice
LATIN NAME: Oryza sativa
COMMON NAME: Upland Rice
Plant Profile
Oryza sativa, better known as Upland Rice, is an annual in the grass family. Upland rice raises its loose, nodding heads of small, flattened spikelets above narrow leaves, and the whole plant stands in the fine, airy clumps. It is a grass of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained ground. During flowering it gives bees and other insects a dependable food source. Plants that offer this much while asking this little are rare enough to treasure.
Science & Biotechnology
Research touching on Oryza sativa ranges from the botany of the grass family to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. In practice, its long garden history means the grower inherits a plant of known and dependable habits.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Upland Rice earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Upland rice is a fine, airy grass of field patch and study collection. It is a fine, airy grass of open, sunny, deep, moist, well-drained garden. Give young plants deep, moist bed, and nodding heads will rise in warm months. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
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
Raising Upland Rice from seed is straightforward. Broadcast the seed thinly over a fine, free-draining compost, sieve a little more compost on top, and water with a fine rose. Pot the young plants on as they grow, harden them off gradually, and plant them into their final positions when sturdy.
Our Take
Among the Oryza group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. Once established, Upland Rice largely looks after itself. Minor errors in timing or watering rarely cost the grower the crop.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Upland Rice: