Explore Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Can't find the answer in our existing FAQs, submit a question to Mr. Smarty Plants.
Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.
rate this answer
Saturday - September 30, 2006
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Native Indian Rice Grass cultivation as food source
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hi! I'm a student at UT and I ran across a grass while doing some reseach, native to Utah and Arizona, called Indian Ricegrass. It was used as a famine plant among native communities, however, it was never really used as a primary source of food. All of the sources that I have found indicates that it's a hardy plant, with larger seeds than many wild grasses and high protein levels. Why was this plant never domesticated for agricultural use?ANSWER:
Indian Rice Grass (Achnatherum hymenoides), native to California, the Rocky Mountain states, midwestern, southwestern and northwestern United States and western Canada, is being cultivated and is recommended by the U. S. Department of Agriculture for use as a feed for livestock and wildlife and as a reclamation crop for disturbed areas. Improved selected cultivar seeds are available for purchase.Flour made from Indian rice grass grains is gluten free. Gluten-free flour is essential for people suffering from celiac disease or are otherwise gluten intolerant. The Indian rice grass has the advantage over other gluten-free flours (such as those made from rice, beans, potatoes, or corn) in that it is high in protein, high in fiber and makes very flavorful baked goods. An article, Value Added Corner: Amazing Grains!, in the USDA magazine, Rural Cooperatives (Volume 71, number 3, July/August 2004) describes the formation, with research and support from Montana State University and the U. S. Department of Agriculture, of a grower-owned cooperative that now "produces, processes, packages, markets and distributes a gluten-free flour made from Indian rice grass. The cooperative also supplies state-certified native grass seed for private and federal land reclamation projects." Amazing Grains Grower Cooperative now sells an all-purpose flour blend and a baking flour supplement under its brand name "Montina" which can be found in stores in 40 of the 50 states.
More Seed and Plant Sources Questions
Best places to obtain native plants
July 13, 2006 - Where is the best place to get native plants ?
view the full question and answer
Finding bloom time on "Explore Plants" feature of website
February 27, 2007 - In using your 'Explore Plants' feature, I have noticed that you can search for plants according to their bloom time, but when looking at a specific species' page, I have not been able to discover t...
view the full question and answer
Availability of Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) for Central Texas
March 26, 2007 - I'd like to buy a flowering dogwood tree. Love the fall berries and spring flowers. I haven't had been able to find them at the nurseries I frequent (Great Outdoors, Natural Gardener, Breed, Barton ...
view the full question and answer
Wild hydrangeas north of Atlanta GA
June 29, 2006 - There are wild hydrangeas in my area - just north of Atlanta GA. There is a particular type, though, that I have only seen in the more mountainous counties of GA. The flower cluster is flat, with tiny...
view the full question and answer
Source for Bumelia lanuginosa in Kansas
August 18, 2007 - Do you know of a source of Bumelia lanuginosa? I would like to include it in a future landscape construction project on the Kansas State University campus.
view the full question and answer
 |
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. Mr. Smarty Plants wants you to be his Facebook friend. Click the Facebook icon to add yourself to Mr. Smarty Plants list of friends. |
