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Corn / Maize🌽
Zea mays
トウモロコシ
An annual grass native to the Andes region of South America and one of the world's three major cereal crops. In Japan it is enjoyed as a summer vegetable, boiled or grilled, and is also widely used for cornstarch, animal feed, and biofuel. It is an especially important crop in Hokkaido's large-scale agriculture.
Identification Points
- ✓Large herbaceous plant reaching 1.5–3 m in height
- ✓Male inflorescence (tassel) is terminal; female inflorescence (ear) forms in leaf axils
- ✓Silks (styles) of the ear are conspicuously beard-like
- ✓Leaves are broad and large with distinct parallel venation
Habitat
Fields and farmland
Season
Sowing: April–May, harvest: July–September (sweet corn)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf shape
Linear
Growth form
Herb
Petal fusion
No petals
Habitat
Cultivated
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Ovary position
Superior
Phylogenetic Positionイネ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Commelinids > Poales > Poaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 80–70 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Domesticated from teosinte (wild ancestor) approximately 9,000 years ago in Mexico. Possesses C4 photosynthesis, enabling high photosynthetic efficiency and mass production.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification