水稻 refers to the rice plant growing in paddy fields. 大米 (dàmǐ) is the husked grain you buy at the store, and 米饭 (mǐfàn) is cooked rice.
culture
Yuan Longping (袁隆平), who developed high-yield hybrid rice (杂交水稻), is one of the most celebrated scientists in modern China, credited with helping feed billions.
