Species that are considered high risk have a well-documented history of invasiveness in at least one location globally, and a high or medium climate match to the contiguous United States.
Zizania latifolia is a wild rice native to East Asia. Z. latifolia is used in various ways as a food source and has a long history of use in traditional medicine. Z. latifolia is in the horticultural trade in the United States. The plant has been introduced to and become established in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Z. latifolia monocultures are reported to encourage land erosion, promote flooding, and suppress native species. The history of invasiveness is classified as High. The overall climate match with the United States is high. The majority of the contiguous United States had medium to high local matches. The largest area of high match was focused on the Mid-Atlantic States. The certainty of this assessment is medium due to the lack of peer-reviewed literature contributing to the impact information. The overall risk assessment category is High.
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High Risk
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