Definition

1. Noun:
   • A taxonomic genus of plants: "genus Zea" is the scientific name for a genus of large grasses, commonly known as corn or maize. It belongs to the grass family Poaceae and is of major agricultural importance worldwide.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The species Zea mays is the only widely cultivated member of the genus Zea.
  • Botanists study the evolution of the genus Zea to understand the development of modern corn.
  • The genetic diversity within the genus Zea is crucial for crop breeding programs.

Advanced Usage

• In botanical nomenclature: The name is always capitalized ("Zea") and italicized when used in a scientific context to denote the genus.
  • The paper compared the genomic structures of Zea and its close relative, Tripsacum.

Variants and Related Words

• Zea mays (n): The binomial name for the species of corn or maize, which is the cultivated member of this genus.
  • Zea mays subsp. mays is the common corn we eat.
• Teosinte (n): The common name for wild grass species (e.g., ) that are part of the genus and are considered the ancestors of modern maize.
  • Teosinte, a wild member of genus Zea, looks very different from domesticated corn.

Synonyms

• Corn (in common usage, specifically for ).
• Maize (the preferred term outside of North America for ).

Related Phrases

• Genus name: The first part of a binomial scientific name, indicating the broader taxonomic group.
  • In "Zea mays", "Zea" is the genus name.

Noun

1. corn