Teosinte
Two teosintes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Zea L.
species
Z. diploperennis Z. luxurians Z. mays ssp. huehuetenangensis Z. mays ssp. mays (maize) Z. mays ssp. mexicana Z. mays ssp. parviglumis Z. nicaraguensis Z. perennis Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1800x1215, 2489 KB) Summary Two plants believed to be of the species hybridized to create maize. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Liliopsida is the botanical name for a class. ... families see text Poales is a botanical name at the rank of order. ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 13, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... This article is about the maize plant. ...

The teosintes are a group of large grasses of the genus Zea found in Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

There are five recognized species of teosinte: Zea diploperennis, Zea perennis, Zea luxurians, Zea nicaraguensis and Zea mays. The last species is further divided into four subspecies: ssp. huehuetenangensis, ssp. mexicana, ssp. parviglumis and ssp. mays, the first three are teosintes, the last is (maize or corn), the only domesticated taxon in the genus Zea. The species group into two sections, sect. Luxuriantes, with the first four species, and sect. Zea with Zea mays. The former section is typified by dark-staining knobs made up of heterochromatin that are terminal on most chromosome arms, while most subspecies of sect. Zea may have 0 to 3 knobs between each chromosome end and the centromere and very few terminal knobs (except ssp. huehuetenangensis which has many large terminal knobs). The two perennials are thought to be one species by some. This article is about the maize plant. ... A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a grouping of organisms (named or unnamed). ... For differently-colored eyes, see Heterochromia. ... Figure 1: A representation of a condensed eukaryotic chromosome, as seen during cell division. ... The centromere is a region of chromosomes with a special sequence and structure. ...

The term "teosinte" accompanied the first Guatemalan accession and seems not to have been used in Mexico. Curiously some members of the related genus Tripsacum may be locally referred to as "teosinte" as may a cycad. Families Cycadaceae cycas family Stangeriaceae stangeria family Zamiaceae zamia family Leaves and male cone of Cycas revoluta Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. ...

There are both annual and perennial teosinte species. Zea diploperennis and Z. perennis are perennial, while all other taxa are annual. All species are diploid (n=10) with the exception of Z. perennis, which is tetraploid (n=20). The different species and subspecies of teosinte can be readily distinguished based on morphological, cytogenetic, protein and DNA differences and on geographic origin, although the two perennials are sympatric and very similar. The most puzzling teosinte is Z. mays ssp. huehuetenangensis which combines a morphology rather like Z. m. ssp. parviglumis with many terminal chromosome knobs and an isozyme position between the two sections. Phenotypically the most distinctive and the most threatened teosinte is Z. nicaraguensis which thrives in flooded conditions along 200 meters of a coastal estuarine river in northwest Nicaragua. Peas are an annual plant. ... Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... A taxon (plural taxa) is an element of a taxonomy, e. ... Diploid (meaning double in Greek) cells have two copies (homologs) of each chromosome (both sex- and non-sex determining chromosomes), usually one from the mother and one from the father. ... Polyploid (in Greek: πολλαπλόν - multiple) cells or organisms contain more than one copy (ploidy) of their chromosomes. ...

As would be expected, teosinte strongly resembles maize in many ways, notably their tassel (male inflorescence) morphology. Teosintes are distinguished from maize most obviously by their numerous branches each bearing bunches of distinctive, small female inflorescences. These spikes mature to form a two-ranked 'ear' of five to ten triangular or trapezoidal, black or brown disarticulating segments, each with one seed. Each seed is enclosed by a very hard fruitcase, consisting of a cupule or depression in the rachis and a tough lower glume. This protects them from the digestive processes of ruminants that forage on teosinte and aid in seed distribution through their droppings. Teosinte seed exhibit some resistance to germination but will quickly germinate if treated with a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide. An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers on a branch of a plant. ... A ruminant is any hooved animal that digests its food in two steps, first by eating the raw material and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as cud, then eating the cud. ... In a botanical sense, germination is the process of emergence of growth from a resting stage. ...

All but the Nicaraguan species of teosinte may grow in or very near corn fields, providing opportunities for introgression between teosinte and maize. First- and later-generation hybrids are often found in the fields, but the rate of gene exchange is quite low. Some populations of Zea mays ssp. mexicana display mimicry within cultivated maize fields, having evolved a maize-like form as a result of the farmers' selective weeding pressure. In some areas of Mexico, teosintes are regarded by maize farmers as a noxious weed, while in a few areas farmers regard it as a beneficial companion plant, and encourage its introgression into their maize. “Mimic” redirects here. ...

Virtually all populations of teosinte are either threatened or endangered: Zea diploperennis exists in an area of only a few square miles; Zea nicaraguensis survives as approx. 6000 plants in an area 200 x 150 meters. The Mexican and Nicaraguan governments have taken action in recent years to protect wild teosinte populations, using both in-situ and ex-situ conservation methods. There is currently a large amount of scientific interest in conferring beneficial teosinte traits, such as insect resistance, perennialism and flood tolerance, to cultivated maize lines, although this is very difficult due to linked deleterious teosinte traits.

Teosintes are critical components of maize evolution, but opinions vary about which taxa were involved. According to one evolutionary model, the crop was derived directly from Zea mays ssp. parviglumis by selection of key mutations; up to 12% of its genetic material came from Zea mays ssp. mexicana through introgression. Another model proposes that a tiny-eared wild maize was domesticated, and after being spread from east-central Mexico, this cultigen hybridized with Z. luxurians or Z. diploperennis resulting in a great explosion of maize genetic diversity, ear and kernel forms, and capacity to adapt to new habitats, as well as increased yields. A third model suggests that the early maize resulted from a cross between Z. diploperennis and a species of Tripsacum; support for this is minimal. Introgression is a term used in genetics, particularly plant genetics, to describe the movement of a gene from one species into the gene pool of another by backcrossing an interspecific hybrid with one of its parents. ...

Zea species are used as food plants by the larvae (caterpillars) of some Lepidoptera species including (in the Americas) the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda; the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea; the stem borers Diatraea and Chilo; in the Old World, it is attacked by the Double-striped Pug, the cutworms Heart and Club, Heart and Dart, Hypercompe indecisa, Rustic Shoulder-knot, Setaceous Hebrew Character and Turnip Moth, and the European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), among many others. A larval insect A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... This article is about a form of an insect. ... The order Lepidoptera is the second most speciose order in the class Insecta and includes the butterflies, moths and skippers. ... Binomial name Helicoverpa zea Boddie, 1850 The larva of the moth Helicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest for cotton, where it is known as the cotton bollworm, corn, where it is known as the corn earworm, tomatoes, where it is the tomato fruitworm, and many other crops. ... Binomial name Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haworth, 1809 The Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. ... The term cutworm is used for the larvae of many species of moth. ... Binomial name Agrotis clavis Hufnagel, 1766 The Heart and Club (Agrotis clavis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. ... Binomial name Agrotis exclamationis Linnaeus, 1758 The Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. ... Hypercompe is a genus of moths of the family Arctiidae. ... Binomial name Apamea sordens Hufnagel, 1766 The Rustic Shoulder-knot (Apamea sordens) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. ... Binomial name Xestia c-nigrum Linnaeus, 1758 The Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. ... Binomial name Agrotis segetum Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 The Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. ... this insect is a europian insect whcich is a pest to maize ...

External links

• Zea species and typical cultivars This list is of historical interest to taxonomists. It is largely of no practical use because many or most are based on single-gene mutations and if completed would be thousands of entries long. Modern classifications are available that are of great utility.