The seed of the monocot group of flowering plants; rice is a cereal grain that comes in two major strains: Oryza sativa or Asian rice; and Oryza glaberrima or African rice.For a large portion of the world's population; particularly those in Central; East and South Asia; rice is one of the most important and most widely consumed food sources.Etymologically the word rice comes from the Old French 'ris'; dated from around the mid-13th century. The Old French term itself is believed to have been derived from the Italian 'riso'; which in turn came from the Latin word 'oriza'; and the Latin word derived from the Greek 'oruza'; from which all European words for rice originate.