Oryza sativa is the scientific name of the Asian rice species that supplies much of the world’s rice.
Oryza sativa was domesticated in Asia and is now cultivated across tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. It includes two major cultivated subspecies: japonica, generally associated with shorter, rounder grains, and indica, often associated with longer grains.
Rice is a grass, not a member of the wheat or maize family. Its edible grain is a caryopsis, a dry fruit characteristic of grasses. Processing determines whether rice is sold as brown rice, white rice, parboiled rice, or other forms.
A second domesticated rice species is Oryza glaberrima, African rice. It has a smaller global role than Oryza sativa. The species name “sativa” means cultivated, a name also used in several other domesticated plants.