Zea is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family. The best-known species is Z. mays (variously called maize, corn, or Indian corn), one of the most important crops for human societies throughout much of the world. The four wild species are commonly known as teosintes and are native to Mesoamerica.

Teosinte is widely used as a forage crop for cattle in Mexico and the seeds may be fed to other livestock such as chickens and pigs. Teosinte is considered the mother of corn and therefore holds a very important place in indigenous culture and beliefs.

May 2, 2023 · Teosinte is the name for a group of a group of wild grasses in the genus Zea that are native to Mexico and Central America. Teosintes include the species Zea diploperennis, Z. luxurians, Z. nicaraguensis, and Z. perennis.

teosinte, any of four species of tall, stout grasses in the genus Zea of the family Poaceae. Teosintes are native to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Domesticated corn, or maize (Zea mays mays), was derived from the Balsas teosinte (Z. mays parviglumis) of southern Mexico in pre-Columbian times more than 6,000 years ago.

Teosinte produces several stems which branch from the base and can grow 6-13 feet tall. Leaves are sword-like and grow 23-48 inches long and 2-3 1⁄4 inches wide. Distribution: Mexican teosinte is native to Mexico and was introduced to the southeastern United States.

Conflicting archaeological, cytological, genetic, and geographic evidence led to two irreconcilable models for the origin of maize. In this study, with more than 1000 genomes of maize and teosinte, including 338 newly sequenced traditional varieties, we revisited the evidence for admixture between maize and its wild relative Zea mays ssp. mexicana.

Feb 5, 2018 · Archaeologists, botanists, and geneticists generally agree that teosinte (Zea mays parvaglumis) is the wild ancestor to domesticated corn. Known as Teocintle, el grano de los dioses (grain of the gods), continues to grow wild throughout Mexico.

Feb 2, 2022 · Iowa State University scientists are learning how to peer back through millennia of domestication to learn how a wild grassy plant known as teosinte developed into corn, the modern cash crop grown across the globe.

Aug 4, 2005 · A simple genetic change liberated the naked kernel from the protective casing that envelops it in the maize progenitor, teosinte.

Oct 20, 2022 · We focus on adaptive alleles in highland teosinte and temperate maize, highlighting the key role of flowering-time-related pathways in their adaptation. To show the utility of variants in these...