Wednesday, October 2, 2024

zea mays parviglumis and popcorn

i have the teosinte variety zea mays parviglumis growing in a number of places around the yard that i planted in late may...it has a long growing season...155 days if i am not mistaken, it has been a while since i found that information and, despite varied queries, the interweb is not cooperating in puking the information out today...i do not have that much time for the plants to mature so seeing silks and ears, much less seed, is unlikely...i simply grow it for the morphological comparison with its descendant maize...despite the low probability of a complete season ( one cannot tell exactly what the climate and/or weather will do )...
several of the plants have begun to flower so we may see mature male blooms if nothing else...i will take what i can get here...
that, simply for comparative purposes, is a popcorn plant and an "improved" genetic relative of teosinte...no tillers here at all, unlike its ancestor...
grown from a seed found, almost incredibly, germinating in a straining screen in a shower drain...odd things can happen here.