AbstractBACKGROUNDKnowledge of the genetic diversity and spatial structure of Taiwan weedy red rice (WRR) populations, which adapted in a transplanting system, will facilitate the design of effective methods to control this weed by tracing its origins and dispersal patterns in a given region.RESULTSTaiwan WRR is genetically most similar to Taiwan indica cultivars and landraces according to genetic distance. The inbreeding coefficient of the Taiwan WRR population is greater than 0.8, which is similar to the inbred cultivars. The ancestry coefficients map suggests a dispersal pattern of long‐distance and seed‐mediated contamination across Taiwan, often from warmer, earlier‐planted regions to cooler, later‐planted regions. Parentage analysis of Taiwan WRR revealed that mostly early indica landraces and indica cultivars were present in the genetic pool; in rare cases temperate japonica was present. Based on the above results, the phylogenetic origin of most Taiwan weedy rice appears to be from hybrid progenies of old cultivated red rice accessions crossed with ‘DGWG’. The inbreeding coefficient trend of the six TWR clusters suggests a temporal shift from ‘old’ indica landraces with red bran (high inbreeding coefficient) to modern indica varieties (low inbreeding coefficient).CONCLUSIONAlthough there were sustained efforts to remove these old red rice accessions from paddy fields before 1945, some farmers continued to use low purity seed. This practice, along with volunteer cultivation of these old varieties in the second cropping season, apparently has facilitated the long‐distance, seed‐mediated contamination of rice seed, and the increase in weedy rice seed in paddy soil. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry