Maize/Corn

The Corn we know today is a grass in the Poaceae plant family, and is believed to have originated from the teosinte plant in Mexico over 6,000 years ago. Teosinte grew tall and produced mostly leaves with very tiny heads of corn kernels. Indigenous Maya, Aztec, and Incan people from South and Central America cultivated teosinte over the centuries to produce larger heads of corn which over time came to look like the large kerneled heads we think of when corn comes to mind. You can learn more in our maize profile!