Maize or Indian corn is a stout annual plant cultiÂvated for the grains during the rainy season. It forms a staple food in some parts of India. Roots are of fibrous adventitious type. PriÂmary root aborts after germination, and is replaced by fibrous advenÂtitious ones from the base of stem. Stems are stout, solid with distinct nodes and internodes. Leaves are simple with entire margin, quite large, linear in shape and arranged alternately. The arrangeÂment is distichous or 2-ranked. They have sheathing leaf-base surrounding a part of internode above. Membranous ligule is present at the junction of base and blade. Venation is parallel. All the organs have rough surface due to impregnation of silica. Inflorescences are of two types, viz. terminal staminate compound raceme or panicle and axillary pistillate spadix. Male inflorescence consists of many spikelets. The spikelets occur in pairsâ??the lower one is sessile and the upper one is stalked. Each spikelet is two-flowered. They have four glumes.
