Neosinte Teosinte Seeds

Ancient Corn meets Modern Corn

'Neosinte' represents a forever changing dynamic population of a wild corn relative using seeds produced from my grow outs of the Northern Highland teosinte plant and a cross with heirloom sweet corn over the course of twenty years. This specific seed source was used to create a diversity of wild corn with characteristics that vary tremendously from plant to plant. The goal was to create an outwardly expanding population free of selection which would allow corn to naturalize on its own as well as create a healthy corn substitute free of breeding.

Grass like in appearance, Neosinte can grow in more drought conditions and produces a much lower yield that what we know as regular corn. It becomes a grain plant more like wheat with dense clustering cobs with kernals that are sometimes exposed to the elements. The kernals on a single plant can contain all the corn used today: crinkly seed sweet corn, popcorn that actually pops, and field corn high in carbohydrate. Neosinte can be ground and used as a corn flour substitute. More on its nuttition will be published here later.

The seeds in these packets contain enough diversity for you to continue to produce this incredibly rare selection of teosinte and corn hybrids. The chances for this cross to occurr under hand pollination is 1:500 according to the literature where attempts have been made at actual breeding. I was very fortunate that I was able to produce this cross in quantity and continue it since I  began harvesting the seeds on my farm in greater numbers every year since 2020. 

Comes packed in glycine and paper packets enclosed in a green canvas bag. 100 seeds plus 4 separate packets itemized below. 

Includes 4 packets of Teosinte selections of Neosinte: 

Northern Highland Teosinte-12 seeds Zea mays var. mexicana, original cross with no kernals like corn. Possibly not true to the species.

Northern Popcorn Teosinte- 12 seeds Seed selection that pops and holds it kernals in a small cob. Very primitive form of wild corn. Multi-husks clustered.

Ancient Wild Corn-12 seeds Seed selection of teonsinte cross with double rows of kernals white and multi-colored mixed. Wild selection clustered multi-husks.

All Purple: Leaves -Cobs-12 seeds Seed selection from purple plants with purple ears. Kernals can be many shapes and colors but foliage appears dominant.

Mixed 100 Packet-All shapes and sizes including popcorn, sweet corn and dent corn from a mixed population impossible to nail down in terms of its traits. 

Free shipping on this product. 

Article I wrote related to this selection:      http://biologicalenrich.blog/2024/09/13/waves-on-an-ocean-from-monoculture-to-diversiculture/ 

Article posted on growing done in September of 2023: https://oikostreecrops.com/the-teosinte-plant/