wild rice, tall aquatic plant (Zizania aquatica) of the family Gramineae (grass family), of a genus separate from common rice (Oryza). Wild rice (called also Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats) is a hardy annual with broad blades, reedy stems, and large terminal panicles. It grows best in shallow water along the margins of ponds or lakes in the N United States and S Canada; certain varieties grow also in the Southern states. Strains have been developed since the 1970s that are amenable to mechanized cultivation.

The seeds were one of the chief foods of certain Native American tribes, especially in the Great Lakes region. Native Americans of the Algonquian linguistic family, especially the Ojibwa and Menominee, and certain Sioux warred for centuries for control of the wild-rice fields. The Ojibwa called the grain manomin [good berry], and the Menominee are believed to have been named for a variant of this word; it is said to have some 60 synonyms, from which a great number of geographical names have been taken.

Native Americans gathered the seeds by pulling the grain heads over their canoes and flailing them with paddles. The seeds were sun-dried or parched over a slow fire to crack the hulls, then the grain was threshed by tramping, and winnowed. The harvest was traditionally followed by a thanksgiving festival. The seed is harvested today, especially in Minnesota, for the epicurean market and local use and commands a high price. It is still gathered by traditional methods, though it is dried, threshed, and winnowed by mechanized means. The strains developed for large-scale commercial cultivation have been bred for uniform maturation and are grown paddies. Calfornia is the leading produce of these varieties, which are less expensive but often less flavorful than traditionally grown wild rice.

Wild rice is an important source of food and shelter for fish and waterfowl and is sown for this purpose. It is also planted as an ornamental grass in home garden ponds and bogs. The seed is usually sown in the spring; it should first be soaked in water overnight. Manchurian wild rice (Z. caducifolia) is a smaller plant native to NE Asia.

Wild rice is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae.

wild hyacinth: see brodiea; camass; squill.

wild carrot: see Queen Anne's lace.

wild canary: see finch; warbler.

wild allspice: see laurel.

Wild, Jonathan, 1683-1725, English criminal. He maintained a highly organized gang of thieves in London and long escaped punishment by posing as an instrument of justice and helping the authorities catch other criminals independent of, or rebellious to, his control. He planned robberies and then secured rewards for helping owners recover "lost" property. His thriving business required warehouses, branch offices, artisans to make alterations, and a vessel for trade with the Continent. He was finally convicted (1725) of receiving a reward for returning some stolen lace and was hanged at Tyburn. Literary accounts of Wild's career, such as those of Fielding and Defoe, are partly fictional.

Tlikakila Wild River: see Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Tinayguk Wild River: see Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Salmon Wild River: see Kobuk Valley National Park.

Persian wild ass: see onager.

Obed Wild and Scenic River: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

North Fork of the Koyukuk Wild River: see Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Mulchatna Wild River: see Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Kobuk Wild River: see Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

John Wild River: see Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Hickok, Wild Bill, 1837-76, American frontier marshal, b. Troy Grove, near Ottawa, Ill. His real name was James Butler Hickok. He took part in the Kansas struggle preceeding the Civil War, was a driver of the Butterfield stage line, and gained fame as a gunfighter. He served as a Union scout in the Civil War. After the war he became deputy U.S. marshal at Fort Riley (1866), marshal of Hays, Kans. (1869), and marshal of Abilene (1871). His reputation as a marksman in desperate encounters with outlaws made him a figure of frontier legend. After a tour of the East with Buffalo Bill (1872-73), Hickok went to Deadwood (now in S.Dak.) where he was murdered by Jack McCall.

Chilikadrotna Wild River: see Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Charley Wild River: see Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

Alatna Wild River: see Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Alagnak Wild River: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Coarse annual grass (Zizania aquatica) of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae) whose grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of American Indians. Despite its name, the plant is not related to rice. Wild rice grows naturally in shallow water in marshes and along the shores of streams and lakes in northern central North America. Cultivated varieties are now grown in Minnesota and California. The plant, about 3–10 ft (1–3 m) tall, is topped with a large, open flower cluster. The ripened grains, dark brown to purplish-black, are slender rods 0.4–0.8 in. (1–2 cm) long.

Learn more about wild rice with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or wild boar or wild pig

Any wild member of the pig species Sus scrofa; the ancestor of domestic pigs. It is native to forests ranging from western and northern Europe and North Africa to India, the Andaman Islands, and China and has been introduced to New Zealand and the U.S. It has a bristly, blackish or brown coat and stands up to 35 in. (90 cm) tall at the shoulder. Except for old, solitary males, boars live in groups. They are omnivores and are good swimmers. They have sharp tusks and, though normally not aggressive, can be dangerous. Because of its strength, speed, and ferocity, the boar has long been a prized game animal.

Learn more about boar with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. Thousands of the approximately 250,000 species of flowering plants are wildflowers. Wildflowers can be divided into three categories by location: those found in the tropics and subtropics, those in temperate regions, and those that grow on the summits of mountain chains and in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Learn more about wildflower with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Abundant “wild duck” (Anas platyrhynchos, family Anatidae) of the Northern Hemisphere, ancestor of most domestic ducks. The mallard is a typical dabbling duck in its general habits and courtship display. The drake of the common mallard (subspecies A. p. platyrhynchos) has a metallic green or purplish head, reddish breast, and light-gray body; the hen is mottled yellowish brown. Both sexes have a yellow bill and a purplish blue, white-bordered wing mark. Males and females of the Greenland mallard (A. p. conboschas) also differ markedly in plumage. In the other subspecies, both sexes resemble the female common mallard. Mallards are found throughout most of Asia, Europe, and northern North America.

Learn more about mallard with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or wild carrot

Bristly biennial (Daucus carota) of the parsley family, native to Eurasia but now found almost worldwide. An ancestor of the cultivated carrot, it grows 5 ft (1.5 m) tall and has divided, long, feathery leaves. Flat-topped clusters (umbels) of white or pink flowers have a single dark-purple flower in the center and resemble lace. The enlarged root is edible but very bitter, and the ribbed fruits have sharp spines.

Learn more about Queen Anne's lace with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or wild ass

Either of two species of small, sturdy equines. Asses are 3–5 ft (90–150 cm) high at the shoulder. The African wild ass, or true ass (Equus asinus) is bluish gray to fawn; the Asiatic wild ass, or half-ass (E. hemionus) is reddish to yellow-gray. The half-ass differs from the true ass in that it has extremely long, slender legs, shorter ears, and larger hooves. The true ass has the alternating “hee-haw” bray. Desert dwellers, wild asses often inhabit regions that cannot support other large mammals. They are very swift runners. Seealso donkey.

Learn more about ass with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Deciduous, dense shrub (Lindera benzoin, or Benzoin aestivale) of the laurel family, native to eastern North America. Found most often in damp woods, it grows 5–20 ft (1.5–6 m) tall. The shiny, oblong leaves (3–5 in., or 8–13 cm, long) are wedge-shaped near the base. Small, yellow flowers crowded in small, nearly stalkless clusters are followed by fleshy red fruit with a stony covering around the seed. Tea is sometimes brewed from young twigs, leaves, and fruit.

Learn more about spicebush with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. James Butler Hickok

(born May 27, 1837, Troy Grove, Ill., U.S.—died Aug. 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory) U.S. frontiersman. He left home in 1865 to farm in Kansas, where he became involved in the Free State (antislavery) movement. He later served as a constable in Monticello, Kan. While working as a stage driver in 1861, he shot and killed the outlaw Dave McCanles; legends of his marksmanship probably began in the exaggerated accounts of his role in this incident. He was a Union scout and a spy in the American Civil War (1861–65); after the war, he was appointed deputy U.S. marshal (1866–67). His ironhanded rule as sheriff of Hays City (1869–71) and as marshal of Abilene (1871) helped tame these Kansas towns. While seated at a poker table in a saloon, he was shot dead by a drunken stranger, Jack McCall.

Learn more about Hickok, Wild Bill with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. James Butler Hickok

(born May 27, 1837, Troy Grove, Ill., U.S.—died Aug. 2, 1876, Deadwood, Dakota Territory) U.S. frontiersman. He left home in 1865 to farm in Kansas, where he became involved in the Free State (antislavery) movement. He later served as a constable in Monticello, Kan. While working as a stage driver in 1861, he shot and killed the outlaw Dave McCanles; legends of his marksmanship probably began in the exaggerated accounts of his role in this incident. He was a Union scout and a spy in the American Civil War (1861–65); after the war, he was appointed deputy U.S. marshal (1866–67). His ironhanded rule as sheriff of Hays City (1869–71) and as marshal of Abilene (1871) helped tame these Kansas towns. While seated at a poker table in a saloon, he was shot dead by a drunken stranger, Jack McCall.

Learn more about Hickok, Wild Bill with a free trial on Britannica.com.