Maize Classification

The scientific name of the species is Zea mays subsp. mays. The binomial name was assigned by Linnaeus in 1753 who created a new genus for this plant very different from other grasses known at the time. The generic name, Zea, comes from a Greek name, zeia, which in antiquity meant a kind of wheat, probably spelled .

It belongs to the family Poaceae and subfamily Panicoideae (such as sorghum and sugar cane and unlike the other major cereals, wheat, rice, barley, rye, etc.., Which are sub - family Pooideae).

The current classification of the species and related species resulting from the work of Iltis and Doebley published in 1980. They are grouped in the tribe Maydeae (sometimes grouped in the tribe Andropogoneae) which is distinguished by the monoécie, that is to say, although the plants are bisexual, the sexes are separated in flowers and often in separate inflorescences. There are genres in September:

* Five from the Old World: Coix, Chionachne, Polytoca, Sclerachne and Trilobachne;
* Two U.S. origin:
o Zea, which is characterized by its inflorescences separated males and females and is divided into two sections:

+ Section Zea, which includes a species: Zea mays, itself subdivided into four sub-species [8], corn and three annual teosinte:

# Zea mays subsp. mays (L.) Iltis, corn itself,

# Zea mays subsp. mexicana (Schrader) Iltis,
# Zea mays subsp. parviglumis Iltis & Doebley,
# Zea mays subsp. huehuetenangensis (Iltis & Doebley) Doebley, sometimes considered a variety of the previous one.
+ Lush section which includes four species of teosinte:
# Zea diploperennis Iltis, Doebley & R. Guzman, who easily hybridize with maize,

# Zea luxurians (Durieu) R. M. Bird,
# Zea nicaraguensis Iltis & B. F. Benz

# Zea perennis (Hitchc.) Reeves & Mangelsdorf,
o Tripsacum, very similar kind which includes seventeen species, some of which are capable of producing hybrids with corn, divided into two sections, with five fasciculata Tripsacum species and twelve species [9], all perennials.

The subdivision of the species Zea mays into sub-species is debatable, some authors classifying Teosinte annual six races: Nobogame, Central Plateau, Durango, Chalco, Balsas and Huehuetenango, instead of three sub-species.

All species and subspecies of the genus Zea have the same number of chromosomes

(2n = 20) except for Zea perennis, which is tetraploid (2n = 40).