Indian Corn

Maize known as corn by most English-speakers, is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents. Indian Corn, or maize, grows with a strong, jointed stalk, rising to the height of five to fifteen feet. The male or sterile flowers , shown here, are arranged in a loose, spreading panicle at the apex, called the tassel and the female fertile flowers, shown here, on the side. Each plant bears from one to five ears which are are cylindrical and enclosed in a covering of leaves called husks. The ears consists of grain, arranged around a pithy cylinder, called the cob. The seeds are rounded on the surface and compressed on the sides. Indian Corn is annual and is one of the most important of all the cultvated plants.

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