Corn, Dent

Zea mays

In Native American lore, maize (or corn as it is commonly called in the U.S.) was one of the "three sisters." Corn seed, along with beans and squash, were planted and grown together, supporting each other in their life cycle and providing a very balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins and vegetable fats to their cultivators.

Dent corn has hard, "flinty" sides composed of horny starch[1], with soft starchy tops and cores that allow the ends to collapse or "dent" when the corn dries. Varieties of dent corn are the most widely grown types in the United States and used for oils, syrups, grits, meals, flours, bio-fuel, silage, and livestock feed.

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Informational Reference:

[1] The horny starch is found on the back and sides of the grain lying next below the horny gluten. It does not consist of pure starch but contains considerable amounts of other substances, especially protein. In an examination of the grain with the unaided eye, the horny glutenous part and the horny starchy part are not readily distinguished from each other, the line between them being somewhat indefinite and indistinct. Together they constitute the horny part of the grain.

Source:  "Maize: Its History, Cultivation, Handling, and Uses . . ." by Joseph Burtt-Davy, page 661, 1914.