The plant known as corn is one of the world’s most significant cereal grains, yet its common name is a source of frequent confusion across different regions. In North America and a few other English-speaking countries, the plant is simply referred to as “corn.” However, for most of the world, including scientific and international organizations, the preferred and less ambiguous term is “maize.” This discrepancy in naming points to a rich history of domestication and linguistic evolution.
The Common and Scientific Names
The distinction between “corn” and “maize” is primarily geographical and historical, rooted in language and the plant’s introduction to different cultures. The word “maize” is derived from the Spanish word maíz, which itself came from mahiz, the word used by the Taíno people of the Caribbean to describe their staple crop. Because the Spanish were the first Europeans to encounter the plant, the name “maize” became the standard term adopted across Europe and for formal international use.
The English word “corn,” by contrast, is an older, generic term that historically meant any small, hard particle or grain, such as the staple cereal of a particular region. In England, “corn” traditionally referred to wheat, while in Scotland and Ireland, it often meant oats. When English settlers arrived in the New World and encountered this new grain, they began referring to it as “Indian corn,” a term which was eventually shortened simply to “corn” in the United States and Canada.
The scientific name for the corn plant eliminates all regional ambiguity by using the binomial system established by Carl Linnaeus. The plant is officially designated as Zea mays. This two-part name is a universal identifier, where Zea is the genus and mays is the species. The genus name Zea is thought to be derived from an ancient Greek word for a type of grain, while the species name mays is a nod to the original Taíno name mahiz. This standardized system ensures that scientists, researchers, and agriculturalists globally are all referring to the exact same plant.
Anatomy of the Corn Plant
The structure of the corn plant, a highly domesticated grass, is adapted for producing large amounts of grain. The main vertical support is the stalk, or culm, a stout, jointed stem that can grow between six and twelve feet tall. Along the stalk are nodes, the points where leaves and reproductive structures emerge, and the sections between them are called internodes.
The leaves are long, narrow, and feature parallel veins, playing a role in photosynthesis. They are attached to the stalk at the nodes, with the lower part wrapping around the culm to form a sheath. Roots emerge from the underground nodes. Some varieties also develop brace roots from the first few nodes above the ground, which provide extra structural support.
Corn is a monoecious plant, meaning it has separate male and female flowers on the same individual plant.
Male Structure
The male flower cluster is the tassel, a highly branched structure that develops at the very top of the stalk. The tassel produces the pollen, which is dispersed by the wind to fertilize the female flowers lower down on the plant.
Female Structure
The female flower structure is the ear, which develops from a side branch lower on the stalk. The ear is covered by specialized protective leaves called husks, which are tightly wrapped around the developing grain. Inside the husks, the kernels (the plant’s seeds) are arranged in rows on a central cylinder called the cob.
For pollination to occur, the female flowers produce silk, which are long, hair-like tubes that emerge from the tip of the husk. Each strand of silk is connected to a single ovule on the cob. The silk’s function is to catch a pollen grain traveling through the air. Successful fertilization leads to the development of a single kernel.
Where Corn Fits in the Plant Kingdom
Botanically, corn is classified within the kingdom Plantae and belongs to the family Poaceae, commonly known as the grass family. This places the plant in the same family as other economically important cereal crops, such as wheat, rice, and barley. As a species, it is a highly domesticated annual grass, meaning it completes its entire life cycle within a single growing season.
Within the broader plant classification, corn is designated as a monocotyledon, or monocot. This classification is based on the fact that its embryo has only one cotyledon, or seed leaf, a feature shared with plants like lilies and palms. Monocots also typically exhibit specific physical characteristics, such as fibrous root systems and leaves with parallel veins, which are both evident in the corn plant. These classifications help to explain the plant’s physical structure, growth patterns, and evolutionary relationships to other plant species.