Ustilago esculenta is a species of fungus in the Ustilaginaceae, a family of smut fungi. It is in the same genus as the fungi that cause corn smut, loose smut of barley, false loose smut, covered smut
Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus Zizania, and the grain that can be harvested from them. Th
Ustilago esculenta
…is grown as an agricultural crop across Asia. The success of the crop depends on the smut fungus. The grass is not grown for its grain, as are other wild rice species, but for the stems, which swell into juicy galls when infected with the smut. The galled stems are harvested as a vegetable called gau-soon and…
Zizania palustris
A 19th century illustration of Native Americans harvesting wild rice
Ojibwa pouch for holding wild rice, cedar bark, American Museum of Natural History