In a variant of maize known as pod corn, or tunicate maize, the maize kernels on the cob are not 'naked' but covered by long membranous husks known as glumes. According to scientists in Germany ...

image: Whereas the mature kernels in wild-type maize (below) sit naked on the cob, in pod corn (above), they are wrapped in individual leaf-like organs. view more Credit: Grosardt, MPIPZ Cologne ...

THERE have been three general theories regarding the origin of maize: (1) that it originated from pod-corn, Zea mays tunicata, which differs from normal maize primarily by a single dominant gene ...