Colorado Maize

Colorado maize or colored maize is a traditional South American maize variety that has long been cultivated in the jungle creeks of the Argentine province of Misiones by the indigenous Guaraní people, who have been using its kernels as a source of food, while the planting seed is used as a trading commodity among themselves.

The ears of this early-flowering maize are cylindrical and they typically have ten rows of round, floury kernels distinguished by a dark orange color and a thorny covering. Commercially unavailable, this maize landrace, locally known as avati pytá i, has over time spread to other areas where the cultivation of commercial corn and its derivatives is currently posing a significant risk on its survival.