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Zea mexicana (Schrad.) Kuntze

Mexican teosinte (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Poaceae > Zea

Characteristics

A grass. The wild ancestor of maize.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.0 - 4.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 1.5
Root diameter (meter) 0.6
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c4

Environment

It is a tropical plant.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 7-12

Usage

The young shoots are boiled and eaten. Whole mature seeds are soaked in water then chewed. The dried kernels can be popped like pop corn. The young immature spikes can be eaten. The seeds are roasted and added to coffee.
Uses animal food coffee substitute fodder gene source medicinal
Edible seeds shoots
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 5 - 14
Germination temperacture (C°) 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) 17 - 28
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Zea mexicana unspecified picture

Distribution

Zea mexicana world distribution map, present in Åland Islands, Brazil, Egypt, Philippines, and United States of America

Conservation status

Zea mexicana threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:270868-2
WFO ID wfo-0000907792
COL ID 7GCZT
BDTFX ID 55646
INPN ID 117418
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Zea mexicana Euchlaena bourgaei Euchlaena giovanninii Reana giovannini Zea mays subsp. mexicana Zea mexicana subsp. mexicana Euchlaena mexicana
WorldFloraDB 2024