茭 (jiāo): wild rice plant (Zizania)

Meanings

茭白是江南常见的蔬菜，又嫩又甜。

Jiāobái shì Jiāngnán chángjiàn de shūcài, yòu nèn yòu tián.

Water bamboo is a common vegetable in Jiangnan, tender and sweet.

农民储存了茭草，好让牛过冬。

Nóngmín chǔcún le jiāocǎo, hǎo ràng niú guòdōng.

The farmer stored dry fodder grass to feed the cattle through the winter.

usage

茭 is best known in 茭白 ('water bamboo'), the swollen, edible stem of wild rice infected by a fungus — a prized vegetable in southern China.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

艹 is the grass radical on top, the standard marker for plant names — apt for the grass-like wild rice 茭.

phonetic

交 jiāo

to cross; to hand over

交 under the grass radical supplies the exact sound jiāo with no tone change. It carries no meaning here.

茭 jiāo