Zea mays

Zea mays, commonly known as maize, corn, or Indian corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.

Etymology and names

The word "maize" derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, maiz. In many forms of English, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, but in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it specifically refers to Zea mays.

History

Maize spread to the rest of the world due to its ability to grow in diverse climates. It was cultivated in Spain just a few decades after Columbus's voyages and then spread to Italy, West Africa and elsewhere.

Structure and physiology

The maize plant is often 3 m (10 ft) in height, though some natural strains can grow 12 m (39 ft). The stem is commonly composed of 20 internodes of 18 cm (7.1 in) length. A leaf, which grows from each node, is generally 9 cm (4 in) in width and 120 cm (4 ft) in length.

Cultivation

In North America, fields are often planted in a two-crop rotation with a nitrogen-fixing crop, often alfalfa in cooler climates and soybeans in regions with longer summers. Sometimes a third crop, winter wheat, is added to the rotation.

Uses

Maize is widely used in Germany as a feedstock for biogas plants. Here, the maize is harvested, shredded then placed in silage clamps from which it is fed into the biogas plants. This process makes use of the whole plant rather than simply using the kernels as in the production of fuel ethanol.

Genetics

Many forms of maize are used for food, sometimes classified as various subspecies related to the amount of starch each has:

• Flour corn: Zea mays var. amylacea
• Popcorn: Zea mays var. everta
• Dent corn : Zea mays var. indentata
• Flint corn : Zea mays var. indurata
• Sweet corn : Zea mays var. saccharata and Zea mays var. rugosa
• Waxy corn : Zea mays var. ceratina
• Amylomaize: Zea mays
• Pod corn : Zea mays var. tunicata Larrañaga ex A. St. Hil.
• Striped maize : Zea mays var. japonica

See also

• List of maize dishes
• Corn on the cob
• Cornmeal
• Grits
• Masa
• Nixtamalization
• Sweet corn