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Zea mays

(Cultivated Maize)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Arabic:

Dhurah, Dhurah Shâmîyah, Surratul Makkah

Common Names in Chinese:

Pao Mi, Yu Mi Xu, Yu Shu Shu

Common Names in Croatian:

Kukuruz

Common Names in Danish:

Majs

Common Names in Dutch:

Korrelmaïs, Maïs, Turkse Koren, Turkse Tarwe

Common Names in English:

Corn, Corn (Usa), Cultivated Maize, Field Corn, Grain Maize, Indian Corn, Maize (Uk), Strawberry Corn, Turkish Wheat

Common Names in Estonian:

Mais

Common Names in Finnish:

Maissi

Common Names in French:

Blé D´egypte, Blé De Turquie, Blé Des Indes, Blé Turc, Maïs

Common Names in German:

Echter Mais, Körnermais, Türkisches Korn, Tuerkisher Mais, Tuerkisher Weizen

Common Names in Hindi:

Anaaj, Makaa, Makaa´i, Makka

Common Names in Italian:

Formentone, Grano Di Turchia, Granoturco, Granturco, Mais

Common Names in Japanese:

Fiirudo Koon, Toumorokoshi (Tômorokoshi)

Common Names in Khmer:

Pôôt

Common Names in Korean:

Ok Soo Soo

Common Names in Laotian:

Khauz Ph´ô:d, Khauz Sa:li:

Common Names in Malay:

Jagong, Jagung (Indonesia)

Common Names in Persian:

Gaudume Makka

Common Names in Portuguese:

Milho, Milho Forrageiro

Common Names in Russian:

Kukuruza Obyknovennaia

Common Names in Spanish:

Cabellitos De Elote (Silk of Immature Cob - Medicinal Ingredient), Elote (Immature Cob), Maíz, Maíz Comun, Mature Cob - South America), Mazorca De Maíz (Naked, Mijo Turquesco

Common Names in Swedish:

Majs

Common Names in Tagalog:

Mais

Common Names in Tamil:

Makka Cholam, Mokkaiccoolam

Common Names in Thai:

Khaaophot (Khaophot), Khaaophot On (Baby Corn)

Common Names in Turkish:

Kokoroz

Common Names in Urdu:

Anaaj

Common Names in Vietnamese:

Ngô

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]

Physical Description

Species Zea mays

Culms erect , 1-4 m tall. Leaf sheaths with transverse veinlets ; leaf blades 50-90 × 3-12 cm, glabrous or with tubercle-based hairs , margins scabrid , midvein stout; ligule ca. 2 mm. Female inflorescence a cylindrical "cob," with 16-30 rows of spikelets ; glumes equal, veinless, margins ciliate ; florets hyaline . Male inflorescence a "tassel" of many digitate racemes ; spikelets 9-14 mm, unequally pedicellate , one pedicel 1-2 mm, the other 2-4 mm; glumes subequal , membranous, lower ca. 10-veined, margins ciliate, upper 7-veined; lower lemma and palea hyaline, subequal; upper lemma smaller than lower. Anthers orange, ca. 5 mm. Fl. and fr. summer-autumn. 2n = 20, 40, 80. [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 4-6' tall.

Habitat

 

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 5,271 meters (0 to 17,293 feet).[3]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual

Growth

Culture: Space 18-24" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Taxonomy

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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

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Zea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1077 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

Z. alba · Z. altissima · Z. americana · Z. amylacea · Z. amylea-saccharata · Z. canina · Z. caragua · Z. cryptosperma · Z. curagua · Z. diploperennis (Diploid Perennial Teosint) · Z. erythrolepis · Z. everta · Z. gigantea · Z. glumacea · Z. gracillima · Z. hirta · Z. hybrid · Z. indentata · Z. indurata · Z. japonica · Z. japonica 'Amero' · Z. luxurians (Southern Guatemalan Teosinte) · Z. macrosperma · Z. mais · Z. mais hirta · Z. maiz · Z. mays (Cultivated Maize) · Z. mays '128yh' (Popcorn) · Z. mays 'Achat' · Z. mays 'Adelfia' · Z. mays 'Agneta' · Z. mays 'Alabama Coschatta' (Flint Corn) · Z. mays 'Aladdin' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Alamo Navajo Blue' · Z. mays 'Albert Arens' Synthetic' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Alborea' · Z. mays 'Alenka' · Z. mays 'Alessandra' · Z. mays 'Alhambra' · Z. mays 'Alicia' · Z. mays 'Alienta' · Z. mays 'All Purpose' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Alvina' · Z. mays 'American Pride' (Ornamental) · Z. mays 'American Way' (Ornamental) · Z. mays 'Amida' · Z. mays 'Amish' (Flint Corn) · Z. mays 'Anasazi' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Anasazi Flour' (Flour Corn) · Z. mays 'Anasta' · Z. mays 'Andrew Wilson' (Popcorn) · Z. mays 'Anouka' · Z. mays 'Antonella' · Z. mays 'Apache' (Flour Corn) · Z. mays 'Aprilia' · Z. mays 'Argent' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Arikara White' (Flour Corn) · Z. mays 'Arkansas Red and White' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Art Verrell's White' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Ashworth' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Aunt Mary's' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Aura' · Z. mays 'Aureliana' · Z. mays 'Autumn Explosion' (Ornamental) · Z. mays 'Aztec Black' · Z. mays 'Baby Blue' (Popcorn) · Z. mays 'Baby Fingers' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Baby Golden' (Popcorn) · Z. mays 'Baccara' · Z. mays 'Balka' · Z. mays 'Balsamo' · Z. mays 'Bankut' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Bantam Evergreen' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Baxxao' · Z. mays 'Bear Island Chippewa' (Flint Corn) · Z. mays 'Bear Paw' (Popcorn) · Z. mays 'Beasley's Orange' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Belonia' · Z. mays 'Beltana' · Z. mays 'Bemol' · Z. mays 'Benicia' · Z. mays 'Bexxin' · Z. mays 'Bi-Queen' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Big Chief' (Ornamental) · Z. mays 'Big Daddy's Yellow' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Big Mountain Blue' (Flour Corn) · Z. mays 'Big Red' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Bilicious' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Birko' · Z. mays 'Bisca' · Z. mays 'Black' (Popcorn) · Z. mays 'Black Aztec' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Black Mexican' (Sweet Corn) · Z. mays 'Blitz' · Z. mays 'Bloody Butcher' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Bloody Butcher Calico' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Bloody Butcher Northern' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Bloody Butcher Yellow' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Bloody Mary' (Dent Corn) · Z. mays 'Blood Brothers' (Flour Corn)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 21, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. 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. [back]
  2. 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. [back]
  3. Mean = 623.670 meters (2,046.161 feet), Standard Deviation = 867.710 based on 1,258 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/2/2009