# corn, maize **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 24, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683 "2003-01-24T19:42:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![manyolkars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@manyolkars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manyolkars)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/1 "2003-01-24T19:42:07Z")
I’ve been reading the archives and enjoyed the info on corn and maize, 14, April, 1978 but my childhood question is still not answered. In grade school, our history books told us that corn(maize) was unique to America, but on the farm in Texas, my grandfather grew a crop of MAIZE that had a single head of grain per stalk. This head of grain was composed of grains similar in size, shape and color to B-Bs, as in Daisy B-B guns. Corn (the American yellow ears) and maize are two different animals! haha I dont think people eat maize. Why does our educational system teach the kids such wrong crap? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/2 "2003-01-24T20:27:41Z")
I will hazard a guess that ‘corn’ (the yellow stuff we buy in grocery stores) is the same species as the stuff your grandfather grew - just a more cultivated variety. ‘Natural’ versions of many plants aren’t much like the ones we eat. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/3 "2003-01-25T00:07:09Z")
**manyolkars**. Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board. You nicely gave a date for Cecil’s column, and by searching the archive, I am gonna post a link here to the column so that others can read it. [LINK](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_102.html) ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/4 "2003-01-25T08:04:52Z")
Manyolkars, in the U.S., “corn” and “maize” are the same thing. “Maize” does not refer to the wild kind, and “corn” to the modern big yellow ear of corn. “Maize” is just the word that people outside the U.S. use to refer to what we call “corn”. But in the U.S., “corn” and “maize” mean the same vegetable. The educational system is not “teaching our children such crap”. Your granddad undoubtedly was growing some kind of open-pollinated heirloom corn. Native Americans had hundreds of different varieties. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/5 "2003-01-25T12:10:57Z")
I have found that in the UK, corn != maize (and sometimes, corn does not mean “US corn” at all), which has resulted in quite some confusion at times… ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/6 "2003-01-25T12:50:33Z")
In Swedish, and AFAIK the rest of the Germanic languages, **korn** = **barley**. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/7 "2003-01-25T13:39:49Z")
In the Southern U.S., part of the corn is used to make hominy. And from hominy, we get GRITS – a staple in our diets. (But I’d rather have Louisiana boudin! Welcome to SDMB, **manyolkars**!) ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/8 "2003-01-25T13:45:16Z")
“Corn” = “predominant grain”. In UK English (which is a Germanic language) it normally means “wheat”, although, under US influence, it is beginning to mean “maize” in certain contexts. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/9 "2003-01-31T01:08:48Z")
We have a corn maze on the outskirts of town. A corn maze in Kansas, imagine that! ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/10 "2003-01-31T08:26:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\*In Swedish, and AFAIK the rest of the Germanic languages, **korn** = **barley**. \*\* Nope. In Norwegian and Danish, _korn_ just means grain. Any grain. Barley is _bygg_ in Norwegian. ---
**Author:** ![manyolkars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@manyolkars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manyolkars)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/11 "2013-01-30T22:03:05Z")
> [@manyolkars](#): > > I’ve been reading the archives and enjoyed the info on corn and maize, 14, April, 1978 but my childhood question is still not answered. In grade school, our history books told us that corn(maize) was unique to America, but on the farm in Texas, my grandfather grew a crop of MAIZE that had a single head of grain per stalk. This head of grain was composed of grains similar in size, shape and color to B-Bs, as in Daisy B-B guns. Corn (the American yellow ears) and maize are two different animals! haha I dont think people eat maize. Why does our educational system teach the kids such wrong crap? Lots of people dancing in this thread, none of them have ever seen maize _ **my grandfather grew a crop of MAIZE that had a single head of grain per stalk. This head of grain was composed of grains similar in size, shape and color to B-Bs** _ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/12 "2013-01-30T22:11:13Z")
> [@manyolkars](#): > > Lots of people dancing in this thread, none of them have ever seen maize > _ **my grandfather grew a crop of MAIZE that had a single head of grain per stalk. This head of grain was composed of grains similar in size, shape and color to B-Bs** _ If I might ask-Why the ten year gap in responding? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/13 "2013-01-30T22:12:17Z")
manyolkars is the Golden Earring of the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/14 "2013-01-30T22:44:18Z")
> [@manyolkars](#): > > I’ve been reading the archives and enjoyed the info on corn and maize, 14, April, 1978 but my childhood question is still not answered. In grade school, our history books told us that corn(maize) was unique to America, but on the farm in Texas, my grandfather grew a crop of MAIZE that had a single head of grain per stalk. This head of grain was composed of grains similar in size, shape and color to B-Bs, as in Daisy B-B guns. Corn (the American yellow ears) and maize are two different animals! haha I dont think people eat maize. Why does our educational system teach the kids such wrong crap? "In our world, said Eustace, a star is a huge ball of flaming gas. “Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is, but only what it is made of.” (C.S. Lewis) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/15 "2013-01-30T23:04:30Z")
> [@manyolkars](#): > > Lots of people dancing in this thread, none of them have ever seen maize As was said 10 years ago, in the US corn = maize. There are many varieties of maize, many of which don’t closely resemble the ears of corn that most of us are familiar with. Your grandfather was simply growing one of those varieties. But they all are very closely related strains of the same basic plant. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/16 "2013-01-31T21:55:05Z")
> [@manyolkars](#): > > _ **my grandfather grew a crop of MAIZE that had a single head of grain per stalk. This head of grain was composed of grains similar in size, shape and color to B-Bs** _ **manyolkars** , maize/corn is a plant species that has been cultivated for centuries and now includes many different varieties of plant that have different appearance. > **[Maize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize)** > > Maize /meɪz/ (Zea mays), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seed... In particular, popcorn is small kerneled with a hard kernel and round. These are all varieties of maize. > **[File:GEM corn.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GEM_corn.jpg)** > > Original file (2,790 × 1,864 pixels, file size: 995 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) > This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing. > العربية | English | français | македонски | +/− So did your father raise maize? Sure, he probably raised a variety of maize. Is the plant your father raised the only one legitimately called maize? Absolutely not. It is just one variety (i.e. subspecies) of the maize plant, i.e. species _Zea mays_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/17 "2013-01-31T21:58:03Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **manyolkars** , maize/corn is a plant species that has been cultivated for centuries and now includes many different varieties of plant that have different appearance. > > [Maize - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize) > > In particular, popcorn is small kerneled with a hard kernel and round. > > These are all varieties of maize. > [File:GEM corn.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GEM_corn.jpg) > > So did your father raise maize? Sure, he probably raised a variety of maize. Is the plant your father raised the only one legitimately called maize? Absolutely not. It is just one variety (i.e. subspecies) of the maize plant, i.e. species _Zea mays_. You may have to wait another ten years for a response, y’know. ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/18 "2013-02-01T16:31:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You may have to wait another ten years for a response, y’know. Now! Let’s be fair: nine years and 365 days. Or maybe he meant for it to be ten years and forgot last year was a leap year? Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/19 "2013-02-04T20:03:47Z")
Look at this site: [http://www.gmushrooms.com/Posters/IndianCorn.htm](http://www.gmushrooms.com/Posters/IndianCorn.htm) All of these are varieties of corn… also known as maize. Did your grandfather’s crop resemble any of the varieties pictured on this poster? The fact that he used the words “corn” and “maize” to refer to different crops doesn’t mean that the rest of the world does. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683/20 "2013-02-04T20:52:49Z")
So, what kind of corn do they grow in Brigadoon? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/corn-maize/150683.md?page=2)