A method of transforming rice is disclosed. The method begins with the preparation of copies of a nucleic acid construct that are coated onto biologically inert carrier particles. In one embodiment, the nucleic acid-coated carrier particles are physically accelerated toward immature rice embryos. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid-coated carrier particles are accelerated toward discs excised from the meristem region of a rice seedling. Both the bombarded embryos and discs are cultivated to produce shoots. These shoots are cultivated into whole sexually mature plants, some of which are transformed. The presence of the nucleic acid construct is verified in either the shoots or the sexually mature plants. A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is a transformed Indica rice plant.