Before flowering, it has some similarities to : Common Millet (Panicum miliaceum) and to Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), but not after flowering.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature :

No relation to : Corn [a cereal grass plant with similar name].

In the South of England Maize it is grown on a large scale as a fodder crop for animals, and on a small-scale as a grain crop (Sweet Corn or 'Corn on the Cob'). Note that Corn on the Cob is not Corn as grown as a cereal crop, although the two are in the same Grass family Poaceae. It escapes (bird-sown) from arable fields to grow on tips and waste ground. Sugar rich varieties are grown for human consumption as 'Sweet Corn' whereas 'Field Corn' varieties are used as fodder for animals and as chemical feedstocks for ethanol production and the like.

Flowering time can vary a great deal, and in drought conditions male and female flowers may flower asynchronously, which can result in great loss of crop (Corn cobs).

Maize uses a more efficient photosynthetic machinery called C4 photosynthesis, (where the initial product of photosynthesis is the four-carbon atom compound, oxaloacetate) which does not exhibit the same in-efficiency as C3 photosynthesis, where many of the captured photos are wasted in oxidising certain products within the plant!

The cob is the female flower, and is enveloped in several layers of leaves. The only visible part of the female flowers are the long styles that emerge from the top of the cob, first white, then turning yellow and red.

The vast majority of Maize grown in the UK seems destined, not for corn cobs at the dinner table, but for Corn Oil production. Corn Oil is used in cooking and frying, as well as in soap production, paint and rust-proofing for ferrous surfaces. Approximately 99% of Corn Oil consists of triglycerides, of which 55% is polyunsaturated fatty acid, 30% monounsaturated fatty acid and 15% saturated fatty acid.

Of the polyunsaturated fatty acids within Corn Oil, 98% is in the form of omega-6 Linoleic Acid and the remaining 2% made up of Omega-3 Linolenic Acid (alpha). Of the Monounsturated fatty acids, 98% is in the form of Oleic Acid

And of the saturated fatty acids, 80% is in the form of Palmitic Acid, 14% Stearic Acid and 3% Arachidic Acid.

ANY TEXT GOES HERE