Botanical name: Oryza rufipogon Griff.
Local name: Kattunellu
Habitat: Marshy grasslands
Flowering & fruiting: September to March
Distribution: India, Sri Lanka and Tropical Australia
Description: Oryza rufipogon is an annual plant and the stem is culms, erect and tufted. The leaves are of 15-35 x 0.8-1.2 cm in length and it is linear-lanceolate, rounded base, apex acuminate, ligules 0.5-1.5 cm long, ovate and membranous. Panicles are 12-25 cm long, stamen having 6 anthers, 2-3 mm long and yellow colored. The stigma is cream in color and grains are of 5-6 mm long and elliptic.
Significance: Seeds have consumed on cooking. It has been used like rice and it is used as a traditional food by tribal communities, whilst the seed is also consumed by Brahmins on days of fasting. It is a source for resistance or tolerance of biotic and abiotic stresses.