How did corn differ from its wild relatives in the structure of its ears?

Modern corn differs significantly from its wild ancestor, teosinte, primarily in the structure and size of its female ears.

While teosinte produces small ears containing only 5–12 seeds, which are typically hidden in clusters within the leaf axils, selective breeding by Indigenous peoples transformed these into the large, multi-seeded ears characteristic of modern Zea mays. Through thousands of years of selective breeding, the plant was modified from a wild grass with small grains into a highly productive agricultural staple.12