Scientific Name:
Zea mays
Pronunciation:
ZEE-uh MAZE
Common Name:
maize, corn
Family Name:
Poaceae
Plant Type:
Annual (true), Poales (grass-like)
Key ID Features:
Course textured grass with culms usually <3m tall; leaves linear, up to 120cm long x 9cm wide; female inflorescences clustered in "ears" above a few of the leaves in the midsection of the plant, between the stem and leaf sheath, tightly covered by bracts called husks; male inflorescences or "tassels" form at apex of the stem ends; grains called "kernals" are arranged in rows on a "cob".
Habit:
Stiffly upright
Form:
Oval - vertical
Texture:
Medium - coarse
Mature Height:
1.3 - 2.0m
Mature Spread:
0.6 - 1.0m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Central America, Mexico
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 8a: (-12 to -9.5 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Humus rich, Well-drained
Landscape Uses:
Accent plant, Container planting, Dried flower or fruit, Specimen plant, Summer interest, Urban agriculture
Additional Info:
Google. Cultivars shown may include Z. 'Amazing'.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Grass-like
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Heavily veined
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Green, the cultivar 'Amazing' has nearly black leaves
Colour in Fall:
Green-yellow
Shapes:
Lanceolate, Linear
Apices:
Acuminate
Bases:
Sheathing
Margins:
Ciliate, Undulate (wavy)
Inflorescence Type:
Spikelet, Floriferous, Panicle-like, Spike-like
Flower Morphology:
Monoecious plant
Number Of Petals:
0
Colour (petals):
Showy, Yellow, Brown
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Male florets are in spikelets are arranged in a panicle or "tassel" at stem tips; female florets are on the immature cob or "ear" next to the stem lower down with their stigmas or "silks" emerging from the upper end.
Fruit Type:
Edible, Grain (caryopsis), Multiple fruit
Fruit Colour:
Yellow
Fruiting Time:
Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Showy, Edible, Some consider the corn cob a multiple fruit because the whole structure comes off as a single unit, (even though the individual fruits or "kernels" do not fuse into a single mass
Bark or Stem Colour:
Organ Modifications:
Prop roots
Propagation:
Seed
Optimal Temp.:
High
Light Level:
High
Maintenance:
Low
Other:
Do not disturb roots; Companion plants include squash, bean
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Beetles or weevils, Blight or needle cast, Fungal leaf spot, Rodents, Rust, Slugs or snails, Virus (Rabbit resistant)
Specific Pests:
Deer, raccoons, squirrels, and number of insect larvae including corn earworm, European corn borer, corn rootworms, and wireworms
