OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

Rice is a type of grass that is one of the most important foods in the whole world! It feeds more people than any other grain. Rice has been grown for about 9,000 years, and there are over 40,000 different types, including white, brown, red, and even purple and black rice.

Rice loves to grow in very wet, warm places, often in special fields covered with water called rice paddies. In many countries in Asia, farmers build the paddies on the sides of hills in big, beautiful steps called terraces. Each rice plant grows a cluster of tiny seeds at the top of its stalk.