backyard I ( zea )

the northern tepehuan teosinte in the top photo is over five feet tall and is working on flowering...it has also produced several tiers of support roots along the way..there are some areas of thickening along the main stem and one of the branches...year before last i got forty-four ears from one plant...hoping to do better this year...the hopi blue aiaze in the fourth photo is taller than i am and so is pushing seven feet in height...it is in full flower and i am looking for ear formation although i don't see any yet...it has a set characteristic zea support roots as well...although they don't have the array of tiers the teosinte plant does they are much larger and , i imagine, do as effective job...one reason i can see for the multiple rows of roots on the teosinte is that it will tend to lean down as the wight of the branches grow and the roots help keep the stems off the ground...i will post photos of the suport t=roots on the zea diploperennis on campus later...those grow all along the underside of the stem as that plant splays out along the ground in an even more pronounced fashion as it grows...here's hoping for green and blue ears soon.