Maize, also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture.
Maize reached highland Ecuador at least 8000 years ago. It reached lower Central America by 7600 years ago, and the valleys of the Colombian Andes between 7000 and 6000 years ago.
The name maize derives from the Spanish form maíz of the Taíno mahis. The name maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as a common name because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn, which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region.
Most countries primarily use the term maize, and the name corn is used mainly in the United States and a handful of other English-speaking countries
