From Wild Grass to Corn

Corn, or maize, is one of the most important crops in the world, yet it does not grow wild anywhere. For a long time, its origin puzzled scientists.

Genetic studies have now shown that maize developed from a wild grass called teosinte, which grows in southern Mexico. Teosinte looks very different from modern corn.

Its ears are tiny and hold only about a dozen hard seeds. Over thousands of years, farmers kept seeds from the plants with the largest and softest ears.

This careful selection began around nine thousand years ago. Slowly, it turned a wild grass into a crop that now feeds billions.