340 



The Journal of Heredity 



TEOSINTE IN DURANGO 



Our first objective was the City of 

 Durango. It was near this city that 

 Dr. Kciward F^almer had first collected 

 seed of a teosinte distinct from that 

 grown in the southern states and known 

 as Florida teosinte; and it was also 

 from this locality that Dr. H. V. 

 Jackson had supplied us with seed of 

 this variety since extensively used in 

 genetic experiments and usually re- 

 ferred to as "Durango teosinte." 



After a number of unsuccessful trips 

 about Durango. teosinte was found 

 growing wild along the bank of an 

 old irrigating ditch at Alcalde Ranch, 

 Anavacuyan, about 15 miles east of 

 Durango. (F'rontispiece.) The plants 

 were growing amid a luxuriant growth 

 of other plants and practically in the 

 water. The other plants were chiefly 

 sedges, grasses and Polygonum. While 

 at this time there was no maize within 

 a quarter or half mile, the locality 

 was one in which maize had formerly 

 been grown. The teosinte plants 

 showed the same diversity of forms and 

 the same evidences of remote hybridi- 

 zation with maize that has been ob- 

 served in our plantings of Durango 

 teosinte. 



We learned that teosinte had been 

 planted about Durango as a forage 

 plant in an experimental way but ap- 

 parently no one is now growing it. 

 Wherever planted, it reseeds itself 

 year after year and most people who 

 know it consider it a weed to be eradi- 

 cated and many have the idea that it 

 will cross with maize to the detriment 

 of the latter. 



Other expeditions were made to 

 points within ten or fifteen miles of 

 Durango, but the only additional 

 I)Iants of teosinte that w^ere found were 

 two stunted indi\'iduals growing in the 

 garden of a Catholic priest in Durango 

 where they had sur\ived from a former 

 planting. It may be concluded that 

 teosinte is a rather rare plant about 

 Durango and lli.it it is known there 

 only as a wee<l. 



TEOSINTE IN THE STATE OF MEXICO 



From Mexico City we went by auto 

 to the region of Lake Chalco since this 

 region is mentioned by Lopez y Parra'- 

 as one in which teosinte grows. 



Teosinte was found a mile or so from 

 the town of Chalco on the road from 

 Mexico City. It was growing along 

 ditch banks by the side of a corn 

 field and in barley fields. (Fig. 2.) 

 The plants were small, the tallest 

 not o\er six feet in height. The small 

 size was due perhaps to the severe com- 

 petition with other plants. Along the 

 side of the corn field they were in the 

 midst of other grasses, Ipomeas, and 

 other plants. A few individuals were 

 found also as weeds in the corn fields. 

 In two of the barley fields in this local- 

 ity teosinte was one of the most com- 

 mon weeds. 



There were some indications that 

 the teosinte had been hybridized with 

 maize, but this evidence was not so 

 pronounced as the close intermingling 

 of the two species would lead one to 

 expect. No teosinte characters could 

 be detected in the maize, unless 

 branches in the axil of the prophyllum 

 be so considered, and this character 

 is common to all maize of the Zea hirla 

 type. The maize at Chalco had red 

 sheaths, few tassel branches, short ear 

 stalks, well-developed tuberculate hairs 

 as well as branches in the axil of the 

 prophyllum. It was in fact typical 

 Zea hirla or hairy Mexican, a type of 

 maize known onl\- from the Mexican 

 tableland. 



The most pronounced e^•idence of 

 h\l)ri(Hzation was the presence of 

 tuberculate hairs, which were found in 

 all of the teosinte plants examined 

 (Fig. 4); also the leaf sheaths were 

 red. Neither of these characters had 

 before been observed in pure teosinte. 

 Tile segments of the rachis of the pis- 

 tillate spikes were often pressed out of 

 line; in some instances the\- were ratlier 

 persistent and a few cases of paired 

 seeds were obser\ed, but after all no 



'Lopez V, I»arra, Rodrigo Id Toozintc, Mcxko, IWS. 



