2025 MURAL SPECIES!
manoomin/wild rice
Zizania aquatica
STATUS:
US STATUS: No Status/Not Listed
MI STATUS: T - Threatened (Legally Protected)
Description:
Tall aquatic grass (2-3 m) of emergent marshes, lakeshores, and slowly moving streams; leaves (submersed, floating or aerial) 1-4.5 cm wide; inflorescences terminal with female spikelets above and male spikelets below; pistillate lemmas thin and flexible, with a few stiff hairs between the nerves. Several other varieties also occur.
Habitat and Occurrence
If you’re looking to find Manoomin for yourself, check within the following ecosystems within the green counties on the map!
• Emergent Marsh
• Great Lakes Marsh
• Inland Lake
• Mainstem Stream
• Prairie Fen
• River
• Southern Wet Meadow
All information on this page is generously provided by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI). For more information about Pitcher’s Thistle - visit the species description here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/wild-rice. To learn more about Michigan’s biodiversity, ecological communities and natural heritage, visit mnfi.anr.msu.edu
get involved with manoomin conservation!
While there are currently no Community Science projects specifically operating to benefit the preservation of Manoomin in Michigan, there are many organizations who work to protect the habitats where it resides! Volunteer with some of these organizations and help protect the habitat that Manoomin needs in order to survive.
report an observation
MNFI stewards the Michigan Natural Heritage Database and track observations of some of Michigan’s rarest forms of life to fully understand the population and range of rare species to protect biodiversity in Michigan. If you have encountered Pitcher’s Thistle, you can share the location information with these trusted conservation professionals here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/species/report