This wild type of maize is distributed widely throughout Central America. In some places it has been growing in the same location for thousands of years. Northern Highland is a short season teosinte which can produce up to 50 ears per plant. It can hybridize with corn.
Teosinte is found growing in the Valley of Mexico was documented in Spanish writing four hundred years ago. Teosinte and maize are unique among the grasses; in both, the male and female parts of the plant flower in different places on the same plant.
Ironically the most enjoyable way to eat this is when the highly fibrous cobs are in the milk stage. Chew on them while crushing the seeds with your teeth! The juice tastes just like sweet corn. The cob is like one giant fiber log with lots of sheaths surrounding the seed. Grows 2-4 ft. tall and is highly multistemmed. Ripens in southern Michigan in 70-90 days.
Our seed selection is now in its fourth generation of plants that set seed early. We believe this would be a good cover crop in drought locations. It appears to be highly competitive with other annual plants after tilling or digging and quickly grows over shorter annual plants after planting. Our Ecos selection has been selected for its early ripening husks as well as self seeding capabilities including fully fertile seeds and full cobs. This allows a person to harvest them easily so the seeds pop off the husk as they ripen in the late summer. Birds also appear to like the seed and dig into the husks so it could be a good winter bird food if rows of it could be left upright during the winter. The plant produces a lot of grass and tillers and is very drought tolerant. Really has potential as a good annual warm season grass.
| Plant Specs |
| Genus & Species |
Zea mays var. mexicana |
| Hardiness |
Annual-frost stops its growth |
| Height (ft) |
2-4 ft. depending on the selection |
| Width (ft) |
2-4 ft. Grows multi-stemmed depending on the selection |
| Pollination Requirements |
Probably self fertile to some extent but has never been tested fully. Cluster them like you would corn. |
| Soil |
Any barren low fertility soil is ideal. Will pretty much grow in any type of soil from acid to alkaline. |
| Climate |
Zone 3-10. Even will grow in the desert and other drought conditions. |
| Ease of Cultivation |
Slow to germinate as the seed has quite a hard seed coat so soaking prior to planting may speed this up. Once established high heat really kicks it in gear. Apparently not susceptible to cold weather and moisture as this originally comes from high elevation. Grows a lot like a dwarf version of sudan grass. |
