Zea mays

(Corn, Strawberry Corn)

Overview:

Conservation Status

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Population Analysis

For the 288,751 species in the Class Liliopsida (Monocotyledons), we average 3.97 observations each in our database; for the Strawberry Corn, we have 53 observations. Compared to other species in this Class, this species is moderately common.
A two-sample t-test can be used to determine whether the trend in observations of the Strawberry Corn is the same as the trend in observations of Liliopsida. Is this species just as common, as a proportion of all observations, as it once was? The answer is no, changes in observation rate of this species significantly differ from changes in observation rate of its Class. (t=1.898, p<0.05)
How do observation rates of the Strawberry Corn differ from those of Liliopsida? To answer this, we examined the percentage of observerations for Liliopsida that were observations of the Strawberry Corn each year. We then correlated this percentage with observation year. If observations of the Strawberry Corn are becoming more common relative to other species of Liliopsida, the correlation should be positive, but if it is becoming less common, the correlation should be negative. In fact, the correlation is negative (r=-.58), with a negative slope (m = -.001), suggesting that the Strawberry Corn may be in decline relative to other species of Liliopsida. This correlation is statistically significant. (F = 49.6, p<.05)
The scatter chart to the right shows the percentage of all observations for Liliopsida each year that were observations of the Strawberry Corn.

Population Trend:

Growing

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae Cavalier-Smith, 1981 - Green Plants
    - Phylum: Magnoliophyta Cronquist, Takhtajan & W. Zimmermann, 1966 - Flowering Plants
      - Subphylum: Spermatophytina (auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Seed Plants
        Infraphylum: Angiospermae auct.
        Class: Liliopsida Scopoli, 1760 - Monocotyledons
        Subclass: Commelinidae Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Poanae (Small, 1903) Takhtajan, 1997 ex Reveal & Doweld, 1999
        Order: Poales Small, 1903
        Family: Poaceae (poh-AY-see-ay) (R. Brown) Barnhart, 1895 - Grass Family
        Subfamily: Panicoideae
        Tribe: Andropogoneae
        Genus: Zea (ZEE-uh) Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 971. 1753. - Corn
        Specific epithet: mays L.
        Botanical name: Zea mays L.

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication: Sp. pl. 2:971. 1753

Name verified on 15-Jul-1987 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 14-Jan-2006

Physical Description

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Family Poaceae:

Annual or perennial herbs, or tall woody bamboos. Flowering stems (culms) jointed, internodes hollow or solid; branches arising singly from nodes and subtended by a leaf sheath and 2-keeled prophyll, often fascicled in bamboos. Leaves arranged alternately in 2 ranks, differentiated into sheath, blade, and an adaxial erect appendage at sheath/blade junction (ligule) ; leaf sheath surrounding and supporting culm-internode, split to base or infrequently tubular with partially or completely fused margins, modified with reduced blade in bamboos (culm sheaths) ; leaf blades divergent, usually long, narrow and flat, but varying from inrolled and filiform to ovate, veins parallel, sometimes with cross-connecting veinlets (especially in bamboos) ; ligule membranous or a line of hairs. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, an open, contracted, or spikelike panicle, or composed of lax to spikelike racemes arranged along an elongate central axis, or digitate, paired, or occasionally solitary; axillary inflorescences often many, subtended by spatheoles (specialized bladeless leaf sheaths) and gathered into a leafy compound panicle; spikelets often aggregated into complex clusters in bamboos. Spikelets composed of distichous bracts arranged along a slender axis (rachilla) ; typically 2 lowest bracts (glumes) empty, subtending 1 to many florets; glumes often poorly differentiated from accompanying bracts in bamboos. Florets composed of 2 opposing bracts enclosing a single small flower, outer bract (lemma) clasping the more delicate, usually 2-keeled inner bract (palea) ; base of floret often with thickened prolongation articulated with rachilla (callus) ; lemma often with apical or dorsal bristle (awn), glumes also sometimes awned. Flowers bisexual or unisexual; lodicules (small scales representing perianth) 2, rarely 3 or absent, 3 to many in bamboos, hyaline or fleshy; stamens 3 rarely 1, 2, 6, or more in some bamboos, hypogynous, filaments capillary, anthers versatile; ovary 1-celled, styles (1 or) 2(rarely 3), free or united at base, topped by feathery stigmas, exserted from sides or apex of floret. Fruit normally a dry indehiscent caryopsis with thin pericarp firmly adherent to seed, pericarp rarely free, fleshy in some bamboos; embryo small or large; hilum punctate to linear.

About 700 genera and 11,000 species: widely distributed in all regions of the world.^[1]

Genus Zea:

Annual. Culms robust, often tall with stilt roots, solid. Leaf blades large, broadly linear; ligule membranous. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, spikelets unisexual, separated into male and female inflorescences, not disarticulating at maturity, spikelets of a pair alike. Female inflorescence axillary, enclosed in enveloping foliaceous sheaths; spikelets all sessile in many longitudinal rows, partially sunk in the thickened, almost woody axis, glumes and lemmas chaffy, awnless, lower floret sterile; styles single, very long, silky, pendulous from inflorescence apex. Male inflorescence terminal, of many digitate or paniculate racemes; one spikelet of a pair subsessile, the other on a slender pedicel, papery, awnless, both florets staminate. Mature caryopses plump, much larger than spikelet scales, very variable in shape and color. x = 5.

Five species: four wild species in Central America; one species cultivated in all warm parts of the world, including China.^[2]

Habit: Graminoid

Images:

Zea mays Zea mays Village corn. Colcabampa, Huascaran National Park, Peru Photographer: Paul Bolstad
Location Taken: Peru Copyright: © Paul Bolstad. Permissions for Use: see www.ForestryImages.org. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 168384

Zea mays Zea mays Zea mays (corn) Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Misc. Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC. 1950 Permissions for Use: See here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 11877

Zea mays Zea mays irrigation Photographer: Brad Haire Copyright: © Brad Haire. Permissions for Use: see www.ForestryImages.org. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 155172

Zea mays Zea mays Management Photographer: Brad Haire Copyright: © Brad Haire Permissions for Use: see here. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 244383

Zea mays Zea mays To validate the corn model, plant physiologists V.R. Reddy and Dennis Gitz collect field data on corn growth and development. Photographer: Stephen Ausmus
Location Taken: United States Copyright: © Stephen Ausmus. Permissions for Use: see www.ForestryImages.org. ZipcodeZoo Photo ID: 177303

Distribution

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Range and Population

Caribbean

North America

Native: .

Reproduction

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Duration: Annual

Growth

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Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Zea:

Bibliography

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Chen Shouliang, Jin Yuexing, Zhuang Tide, Fang Wenzhe, Sheng Guoying, Liu Liang, Wu Zhenlan, Lu Shenglian, Sun Bisin, Hu Zhihao, Wang Song, Sun Xiangzhong, Wang Huiqin, Yang Xilin, Wang Chaopin, Li Binggui & Wen Shaobin. 1990. Gramineae (Poaceae) (4). In: Chen Shouliang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 10(1):1401
Chen Shouliang, Zhuang Tide, Fang Wenzhe, Sheng Guoying, Jin Yuexing, Liu Liang, Sun Bisin, Hu Zhihao & Wang Song. 1997. Gramineae (Poaceae) (5). In: Chen Shouliang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 10(2): 1301
Doebley, J. F. & H. H. Iltis. 1980. Amer. J. Bot. 67:982–1004.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. (CRC MedHerbs ed2)
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993–. Flora of North America. (F NAmer)
Liu Liang, Zhu Taiping, Chen Wenli, Wu Zhenlan & Lu Shenglian. Gramineae (Poaceae) (2). In: Liu Liang, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 9(2): 1405
Lu Sheng-lian, Sun Yong-hua, Liu Shang-wu, Yang Yong-chang, Wu Zhen-lan, Kuo Pen-chao, Yang Hsi-ling, Wang Chao-pin & Tsui Nai-ran. 1987. Gramineae (3). In: Kuo Pen-chao, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 9(3): 1329
McGuffin, M. et al., eds. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. (Herbs Commerce ed2)
PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) - on-line resource. (PROTABASE)
Wang Zhengping, Ye Guanghan, Yang Yaling, Yu Zehua, Hu Chenhua, Geng Bojie, Feng Xuelin, Jia Liangzhi, Xia Nianhe, Li Dezhu, Zhang Weiping, Xue Jiru, Zhu Zhengde, Zhao Qiseng, Chen Shouliang, Sheng Guoying, Chen Shaoyun, Yao Changyu, Lu Jionglin, Sun Jiliang, Lin Wantao, Yi Tongpei, Zhao Huiru, Wen Taihui & Dai Qihui. 1996. Gramineae (Poaceae) (1).

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors:

Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 21, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 34 providers.
USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (May 01, 2008)

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 21, 2007:

Bundesamt fÃ¼r Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fÃ¼r PhytodiversitÃ¤t Deutschland, Bundesamt fuer Naturschutz / Zentralstelle fuer Phytodiversitaet Deutschland
Centre for Genetic Resources, The Netherlands, CGN-PGR
Conservatoire botanique national du Bassin parisien, Conservatoire botanique national du Bassin parisien
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Virtual Herbarium Darwin Core format
Herbier de la Guyane, Herbier de la Guyane
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute(IPGRI), EURISCO
JyvÃ¤skylÃ¤ University Museum - The Section of Natural Sciences, Vascular plant collection of Jyvaskyla University Museum
Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Vascular Plant Herbarium, Oslo
The Swedish Museum of Natural History
, Herbarium of Oskarshamn
The Swedish Museum of Natural History
, Plants
USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
University of Alabama Biodiversity and Systematics, Herbarium

Identifiers:

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 42269
Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13754377
Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:426810-1
U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: ZEMAP
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 69009

Footnotes:

Shou-liang Chen, De-Zhu Li, Guanghua Zhu, Zhenlan Wu, Sheng-lian Lu, Liang Liu, Zheng-ping Wang, Bi-xing Sun, Zheng-de Zhu, Nianhe Xia, Liang-zhi Jia, Zhenhua Guo, Wenli Chen, Xiang Chen, Yang Guangyao, Sylvia M. Phillips, Chris Stapleton, Robert J. Soreng, Susan G. Aiken, Nikolai N. Tzvelev, Paul M. Peterson, Stephen A. Renvoize, Marina V. Olonova & Klaus Ammann "Poaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 22. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
Shou-liang Chen & Sylvia M. Phillips "Zea". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 571, 650. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

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Last Revised: May 18, 2008