MAIZE. 



CLASSIFICATION AND VARIETIES 



238. Species. — No wild species belonging to the genus Zea 

 having with certainty been identified, all the knowledge we have 

 of maize is obtained from its cultivated t}'pes, all of which have 

 been considered as coming from one species {Zea mays L.). 

 Apart from pod maize, there are five types or classes which are 

 readily recognizable and when kept pure breed true to type. 

 Although the different t}-pes cross readily, intermediate t}'pes 

 are not common. The difference in these t}'pes is due primarily 

 to the arrangement and character of the endosperm, although 

 accompanied with and resulting therefrom are marked variations 

 in the shape of the grain. (226) 



If a dent maize grain is split through its t^^'O longest diame- 

 ters, the endosperm will appear to consist of two parts. In the 

 central part the endosperm will appear white, while on either 

 side it is glossy or corneous (horny). Sturtevant first pointed 

 out the relation bet^veen the character of the endosperm and the 

 five t}-pes of maize. The several t}'pes he has called agricultural 

 species and proposed Latin names for them as follows : 



1. Pod maize {Zea tunicata). 



2. Pop maize {Zea everta). 



3. Flint maize {Zea induraia). 



4. Dent maize {Zea indentata)- 



5. Soft maize {Zea a/nylacea). 



6. Sweet maize {Zea saccJiarata). 



In this book these proposed species will be referred to as the 

 types of maize, and variations within these types will be calleH 

 varieties. 



