| Scientific Name: | Zea mays |
| Common Name: | maize, corn |
| Family Name: | Poaceae |
| Origin: | Central America, Mexico |
| Hardiness Zone: | Zone 8a: (-12 to -9.5 °C) |
| Plant Type: | Annual, Poales (grass-like) |
| Mature Size: | 0.7 - 1.3m x 0.3 - 0.6m (height x width) |
| Habit: | Stiffly upright |
| Form: | Oval - vertical |
| Texture: | Medium - coarse |
| Landscape Uses: | Accent plant, Container planting, Dried flower or fruit, Specimen plant, Summer interest, Urban agriculture |
| Exposure: | Full sun |
| Soil or Media: | Humus rich, Well-drained |
| Leaves: | Simple, Grass-like, Alternate, Heavily veined, Glabrous, Lanceolate, Linear, Ciliate, Undulate (wavy) |
| Flowers: | Spikelet, Yellow, Brown, Aug-Sep |
| Fruit: | Edible, Grain (caryopsis), Multiple fruit, Yellow, Aug-Sep |
| Key ID Features: | |
| Stems unbranched, 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 on a "cob". | |