Maize
Genus of grass cultivated as a food crop / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Maize?
Summarize this article for a 10 years old
Maize (/meɪz/ MAYZ; Zea mays subsp. mays, from Spanish: maíz after Taino: mahis[2]), also known as corn in North American and Australian English, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago.[3][4] The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to inflorescences (or "tassels") which produce pollen and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that when fertilized yield kernels or seeds, which are botanical fruits.[5][6] The term maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as the common name because it refers specifically to this one grain whereas corn refers to any principal cereal crop cultivated in a country. For example, in North America and Australia corn is often used for maize, but in England and Wales it can refer to wheat or barley, and in Scotland and Ireland to oats.
| Maize | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Includes male and female flowers | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
| Genus: | Zea |
| Species: | Z. mays |
| Binomial name | |
| Zea mays | |
Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice. In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), maize is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn syrup.[7] The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.[8] Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as feedstocks for the chemical industry. Maize is also used in making ethanol and other biofuels.
Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain.[9] In 2021, total world production was 1.2 billion tonnes (1.2×109 long tons; 1.3×109 short tons). Maize is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 384 million tonnes (378,000,000 long tons; 423,000,000 short tons) grown in the United States alone in 2021.[citation needed] Genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009.[10] Subsidies in the United States help to account for its high level of cultivation of maize and its position as the largest producer in the world.[11]