Sweet Corn Tassle
You will notice one day that your corn will look like this…. the first photo shows the corn tassle. It is a good surprise!
Corn is monoecious, which means that there are both male and female flowers on each corn plant. In some monoecious plants the male and female parts are located in a single flower. In corn however, the male and female flowers are in different locations. The male flower is the tassle at the top of the corn stalk.
The female flower is located at the junction of leaves and stem. This female flower consistes of silks enclosed in husks which will become an ear of corn. The silks are actually tubes which will receive the wind blown pollen of the male tassles at the top of the corn stalk. There is one silk per kernnel. For the ear to be full of kernels, each silk will need to be pollinated. Ever seen an ear of corn missing a kernel? It means the silk connected to that kernel was never pollinated.
Sweet Corn Silk
For more reading: When to Harvest Corn or Is It Possible to Grow Corn in Containers?
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