Maize was native to the New World, being domesticated in Mesoamerica by 3,500 B.C.E., and then spread throughout the American continents. It spread to the rest of the world after European contact with the Americas in the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century.
Maize is an economically important plant, particularly widely cultivated in the United States, where it is the leading grain crop, ahead of wheat, oats, rice, and so forth. As maize advances its own survival and reproduction, it also serves a value for humans. All parts of this generally tall plant are utilized, with the stalks for fodder for livestock feed, as well as paper and wallboard, the cobs and kernels for food and to make fuel, the husks for tamales, and the silk for medicinal tea. Corn serves as the foundation for such products as bourbon, corn flour, corn oil, cornmeal, cornstarch, corn syrup, and laundry starch, and the multicolored Indian corn serves decorative use (Herbst 2001).
