Rice Plant Flower Facts

Rice plants must flower in order to produce rice.

Rice provides a substantial amount of nutrition for people around the world. Like other food-producing plants, the flowering process is essential if the plant is to produce the grain that is not only consumed alone but also used as an ingredient in innumerable foods.

Appearance

Flowers of the Oryza genus lack the showiness of other flowering plants. Rice flowers usually grow from a slightly droopy panicle on the tips of the plants. They reach between 4 and 10 inches in length and feature around 75 to 150 or more miniature spikelets.

Flowering Season

Rice plants flower during spring or early summer. The flowers reach maturity in 75 to 130 days, depending on the species of rice and the location in which it is grown. The newly emerged panicles then take around 35 days to produce ripened seeds.

Folk Uses

Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products notes that the flowers have folk uses in China. Farmers harvest the rice flowers, then dry them out to be used in cosmetics and as a dentrifice.

References

• Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products: Oryza sativa
• Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plants Products: Rice
• Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide: Red Rice