Zea mays L. is a highly important crop native to America, where it was one of the most important foods of the ancient American inhabitants.

1. Purple Corn (Zea mays L.) Classification

Kingdom: Plantae (Plants)
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (Vascular plants)
Superdivision: Spermatophyta (Seed plants)
Division: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)
Class: Liliopsida (Monocotyledons)
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Poales
Family: Gramineae Juss. = Poaceae Barnhart (Grass Family)
Genus: Zea
Species: Zea mays L.
Subespecie: Zea mays L. subsp. mays
Synonyms:

• Mays americana Baumg.
• Mays Zea Gaertn.
• Mayzea cerealis Raf.
• Zea alba Mill.
• Zea altísima C.C. Gmel. ex Steud.
• Zea americana Mill.
• Zea amylacea Sturtev. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Amylacea Group)
• Zea canina S. Watson
• Zea cryptosperma Bonaf.
• Zea erythrolepis Bonaf.
• Zea everta Sturtev. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Everta Group)
• Zea gigantea (Bonaf.) hort. ex Vilm.
• Zea glumacea Larrañaga
• Zea gracillima (Körn. ex. Hitchc.) Hort. ex Vilmorin
• Zea hirta Bonaf.
• Zea indentata Sturtev. -> Zea mays L.subsp. mays (Indentata Group)
• Zea indurata Sturtev. -> Zea mays L.subsp. mays (Indurata Group)
• Zea japonica Van Houtte
• Zea macrosperma Klotzsch
• Zea mais Anonymous
• Zea mais var. hirta (Bonaf.) Alef.
• Zea maiz Vell.
• Zea mays L. convar. amylacea (Sturt.) Grebensc. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Amylacea Group)
• Zea mays L.convar. ceratina Kuelshov -> Zea mays L. var. ceratina Kuelshov
• Zea mays L. convar. dentiformis Körn. -> Zea mays L. var. indentata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. convar. mays
• Zea mays L. convar. microsperma Körn. -> Zea mays L. var. everta (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. convar. saccharata Körn. -> Zea mays L. var. saccharata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. convar. vulgaris Körn. -> Zea mays L. var. indurata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. fo. variegata (G. Nicholson) Beetle
• Zea mays L. subsp. amylacea (Sturtev.) Zhuk. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Amylacea Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. ceratina (Kuelshov) Zhuk. -> Zea mays L. var. ceratina Kuelshov
• Zea mays L. subsp. everta (Sturtev.) Zhuk. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Everta Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. indentata (Sturtev.) Zhuk. -> Zea mays L.subsp. mays (Indentata Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. indurata (Sturtev.) Zhuk. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Indurata Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Amylacea Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Everta Group)
• Zea mays L.subsp. mays (Indentata Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Indurata Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Saccharata Group)
• Zea mays L. subsp. saccharata (Sturtev.) Zhuk. -> Zea mays L. var. saccharata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. subsp. semidentata Kuleshov
• Zea mays L. subsp. tunicata Sturtev.
• Zea mays L. var. amylacea (Sturtev.) Bailey -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Amylacea Group)
• Zea mays L. var. ceratina Kuelshov
• Zea mays L. var. cuzcoensis Kornicke -> 'Cuzco Gigante'
• Zea mays L. var. everta (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Everta Group)
• Zea mays L. var. gracillima Körn. ex Hitchc.
• Zea mays L. var. indentata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey -> Zea mays L.subsp. mays (Indentata Group)
• Zea mays L. var. indurata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Indurata Group)
• Zea mays L. var. japonica (Van Houtte) Wood
• Zea mays L. var. macrosperma Kornicke -> 'Cuzco Gigante'
• Zea mays L. var. mirabilis Kornicke -> 'Saccsa'
• Zea mays L. var. multicoloramylacea Yarchuk
• Zea mays L. var. oryzaea Kuleshov
• Zea mays L. var. pennsylvanica Bonaf.
• Zea mays L. var. precox Torr. -> Zea mays L. var. everta (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. var. rugosa Bonaf. -> Zea mays L. var. saccharata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey
• Zea mays L. var. saccharata (Sturtev.) L.H. Bailey -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Saccharata Group)
• Zea mays L. var. striatiamylacea Leizerson
• Zea mays L. var. subnigroviolacea Yarchuk -> 'Cuzco Morado' ?
• Zea mays L. var. tunicata Larrañaga ex A. St.-Hil.
• Zea mays L. var. variegata G. Nicholson
• Zea mays L. var. virginica Bonaf.
• Zea minima (Körn. ex. Hitchc.) Hort. ex Vilmorin
• Zea odontosperma Ten.
• Zea rostrata Bonaf.
• Zea saccharata Sturtev. -> Zea mays L. subsp. mays (Saccharata Group)
• Zea segetalis Salisb.
• Zea tunicata (Larrañaga ex A. St.-Hil.) Sturtev. -> Zea mays L. var. tunicata Sturtev.
• Zea vittata Hort. ex Vilmorin
• Zea vulgaris Mill.

Main Cultivars or Forms (Groups):

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘Indentata Group’ = Zea mays var. indentata

This group is known as dent corn or field corn. It is a corn cultivar with kernels that contain both hard and soft starch and become indented at maturity. Dent corn is characterized by wedge-shaped kernels with an indented top and with the soft or floury endosperm extending to the top, while the corneous is confined mainly to the sides of the kernel. It is a major crop used to make food, animal feed, and industrial products. This is the only group to be considered for cornstarch manufacturing.

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘Indurata Group’ = Zea mays var. indurata

This group is known as flint corn. This is a group of corn having hard, horny, rounded or short and flat kernels with a small area of soft and starchy endosperm around the embryo completely enclosed by a hard outer layer. It is similar to dent and is used for the same purposes. Most of it is grown in South America.

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘ceratina’ = Zea mays var. ceratina

This is known as waxy corn. This is a corn cultivar with grains that have a waxy appearance when cut, and that contains only branched-chain starch. Waxy corn starch is over 99% amylopectin, whereas regular corn contains 72-76% amylopectin and 24-28% amylose. Amylopectin is a branched form of starch of high molecular weight, while amylose is a smaller unbranched or linear form of starch. Waxy corn is processed in wet milling to produce waxy cornstarch which slowly retrogrades back to the crystalline form of starch. It is grown to make special starches for thickening foods in particularly those that undergo large temperature changes in processing and preparation.

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘Saccharata Group’ = Zea mays var. rugosa or Zea saccharata

Some authorities consider it a distinct species, (Zea saccharata or Zea rugosa), a subspecies (Zea mays subsp. rugosa) or a specific mutation of dent corn. This cultivar is called sweet or green corn, and is eaten fresh, canned, or frozen. Sweet corn has the endosperm translucent and horny in appearance and the starch partially replaced by sugar. It is a type of corn that is grown in many horticultural varieties. It is distinguished by kernels containing a high percentage of sugar in the milk stage when they are suitable for table use. Most of the corn grown today for human consumption is sugar corn, about 200 cultivars of which are grown in the US.

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘Everta Group’ = Zea mays subsp. everta

This form or cultivar is called popcorn. It has small ears and kernels with very hard corneous endosperm that, on exposure to dry heat, are popped or everted by the expulsion of the contained moisture, and form a white starchy mass many times the size of the original kernel. Two types of kernels are known, one is rice-shaped with a pointed end and the other flat with rounded end; both are small and hard.

• Zea mays ‘Indian corn’

Indian corn has white, red, purple, brown, or multicolored kernels. It was the original corn grown by the Indians, and is known by the scientific name Zea mays. It is many times seen in harvest time and Halloween decorations.

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘Amylacea Group’ = Zea mays subsp. amylacea

This group is commonly called flour corn, soft corn or squaw corn. It has kernels shaped like those of flint corn and composed almost entirely of soft starch but varying in size from kernels not much larger than those in popcorn to kernels nearly 2.5 cm long. In the United States, small amounts of blue flour corn are grown in order to make tortillas (omelets), chips, and baked goods. In South America this corn is grown in various colors to make food and beer. Many races and forms are grown; their kernels are very variable. Purple corn is placed in this group.

• Zea mays subsp. mays ‘tunicata’ = Zea mays subsp. tunicata

Called pod corn. Pod corn has each kernel as well as the ear itself, covered with a husk, the kernels varying greatly in size and shape, a type of corn rarely grown.

Related Taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) :

• Zea diploperennis
• Zea luxurians
• Zea mays var. huehuetenangensis
• Zea mays subsp. mexicana
• Zea mays subsp. parviglumis
• Zea mays var. parviglumis
• Zea nicaraguensis
• Zea perennis

Zea diploperennis is a wild perennial species that was thought to be extinct. It was rediscovered in Mexico in 1978. This is an evergreen species.

Common names: “Peruvian purple corn”, “purple corn”, “purple maize”, “corn”, “maize”, “mealie”, “Indian corn”. Castilian/Spanish: Peru “maíz morado”. Quechua: “kculli sara”, ‘kculli’, ‘culli’. Guaraní: “abatí”.