How are the male and female flowers of a corn plant arranged?

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The corn plant is a monoecious species, meaning it bears both male and female flowers on the same individual plant, though these flowers are unisexual and located in different areas.12

  • Male flowers (Staminate): These are borne on the tassel, which terminates the main axis of the plant's stem.3
  • Female flowers (Pistillate): These form the ears of corn. They are arranged as spikes with a thickened axis, bearing paired spikelets in longitudinal rows. The styles, commonly known as corn silk, protrude from the tops of these ears to catch wind-blown pollen from the tassels.345