Maize
Maize ( ; "Zea mays" subsp. "mays", from after ), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.

Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice. In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), maize is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn syrup. The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn. Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, and fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as chemical feedstocks. Maize is also used in making ethanol and other biofuels.

Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. In 2014, total world production was 1.04 billion tonnes. Maize is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 361 million metric tons grown in the United States alone in 2014. Genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009. Subsidies in the United States help to account for its high level of cultivation of maize and its position as the largest producer in the world.
Q7053766
North American
Concept
Q44679
Australian English
Concept
Q12117
cereal grain
Concept
Q36747
indigenous peoples
Concept
Q79932
pollen
Concept
Q156428
inflorescence
Concept
Q380138
ovuliferous
Concept
Q147398
ears
Concept
Q3936020
kernels
Concept
Q1364
fruit
Concept
Q736427
staple food
Concept
Q17098621
total production of maize surpassing
UNK
Q15645384
wheat
Concept
Q5090
rice
Concept
Q1006089
masa
Concept
Q5171052
corn ethanol
UNK
Q2836947
animal feed
Concept
maize products
UNK
Q3393961
corn starch
Concept
Q618739
corn syrup
Concept
Q16955875
dent corn
Concept
Q3303407
flint corn
Concept
Q16919101
pod corn
Concept
Q165112
popcorn
Concept
Q25339114
flour corn
Concept
Q18966
sweet corn
Concept
Q5446977
field corn
Concept
Q837118
cornmeal
Concept
Q1006089
masa
Concept
Q856775
corn oil
Concept
Q543127
bourbon whiskey
Concept
Q153
ethanol
Concept
Q128991
biofuel
Concept
Q191118
tonne
Concept
Q235352
crop
Concept
Q191118
metric tons
Concept
Q1363424
Genetically modified maize
UNK
Q13561516
Subsidies in the United States
UNK
Q11575
Maize
Concept
Q11575
Maize
Concept
Q11575
Maize
Concept
Q11575
Maize
Concept
Q11575
Maize
Concept
2014-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2014
DATE
2014-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2014
DATE
2009-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2009
DATE
+1.04^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1.04
NUMBER
+85^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
85
NUMBER
natural product of taxon
subclass of
found in taxon