Purple Maize seed
LATIN NAME: ZEA MAYS
COMMON NAME: Purple Maize
The purple maize plumes the tall, robust grass with the broad, arching, green leaves and the stout stems crowned by the feathery tassels of the male flowers, the thick cobs forming in the leaf axils and wrapped in the husks, the kernels ripening through the deep purple, the silks drying at the tips. The whole plant carries the rich, purple tint through the harvest, and it grows quickly through the warm season. It likes the sun, and the rich, moist, well-drained soil.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The anthocyanin pigments of the purple maize hold a recognised place in the research on the staple cereals of the grass family, and the purple forms appear in the studies of the antioxidant pigments and the coloured grain. The work looks at the way the kernels build the deep purple colour, the grain chemistry, and the seed biology. The nutritionists value the antioxidant pigments, and the growers of the heritage grain crops keep the forms in their catalogues.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
In the summer garden, the purple maize plumes the summer rows with the purple tassels. The kernels serve the flours, the porridges, the drinks and the traditional dishes for the ages, the coloured pigments serve the natural food colourings, and the tall stalks give the leafy screen. It grows well in the rich, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Tall, purple and generous.
To grow the Purple Maize from seed, sow the seeds deep into the rich, warm drills of the open bed after the frosts, then firm the soil over them, keep the rows well watered, and the young plants show themselves within a week or two.
Keep the rows well watered, and thin the seedlings to the roomy spacing. The purple plumes come within the season. Thin them to the roomy spacing, and the purple plumes will rise through the summer.
Uses: edible, medicinal, health food
Purple Maize Zea mays Corn
Purple corn is turning out to be one of the healthiest foods on the planet.
It is loaded with phenolics and anthocyanin, and has an antioxidant rating higher than
blueberries.
The health benefits of purple corn are pervasive in the body, and it has a normalizing
effect on many bodily systems.
It can even shrink cancerous tumors.
