By Leanna Feder
Sep 26 2019
Maize (Zea mays), or corn, is a domesticated cereal crop native to Mexico and Central America. Maize domestication occurred approximately 9000 years ago in Southwest Mexico, from wild relatives known as teosintes. The teosinte most similar to maize, and generally considered to be the progenitor, is Zea mays subsp. parviglumis.Teosintes are almost unrecognizable as relatives of maize because the female inflorescence (ear) of maize was so dramatically altered by human selection. Teosinte ears contain approximately 5-12 kernels while a typical ear of maize has about 800!