DISTINGUISHING RICE (ORYZA-SATIVA POACEAE) FROM WILD ORYZA SPECIES THROUGH PHYTOLITH ANALYSIS, II - FINALIZED METHOD

Asian I ice is an important grain, not only in its homeland but in man y areas of the world. Preliminary studies suggested that phytolith ana lysis, rite identification of opaline silica bodies, provided a reliab le way of identifying lice, especially in situations where preservatio n of charred botanical remains was poor. Results of this follow-up stu dy, which incorporates all Asian wild Oryza species and a diverse arra y of traditional Oryza sativa cultivars, confirm? that lice carl be id entified with a high level of certainty by the size and qualitative fe atures of a distincitve phytolith, the double-peaked glume cell.