Varieties of Indian Corn

White Varieties

• Surprisingly, many varieties of Indian corn have white kernels. Blount's prolific was developed by Professor A. Blount in Tennessee in the late 1800s. He was a professor of agriculture who also developed wheat. Blount's prolific has eight rows, a small 8-inch stalk, small cobs and white kernels with a dimple on top. Boone County White was developed by James Riley around the same time as Blount's prolific. It has long ears, thick white cob and large thick white kernels. It is adapted to grow in the West. Burrill and Whitman is a white variety with 9-inch ears between 2 and 4 inches in diameter with 14 to 16 rows on white cobs.

Orange Varieties

• There are many varieties of Indian corn with dark yellow and orange kernels. The Chester County mammoth has ears up to 11 inches long on red cobs, with dark yellow kernels in 18 rows. It originated in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Longfellow has 10-inch ears, six rows of deep yellow-orange kernels and a small white cob. It grows on 7-foot plants, developed by Massachusetts farmers in the 1800s. Waushakum is a very prolific producer with 9-inch ears, a small white cob and 8 rows of golden orange kernels. Narragansett is a variety with 7-inch ears, a red cob and eight rows of yellow to dark red kernels grown on small 5-foot plants.

Red and Blue Varieties

• King Philip, also called eight-rowed copper, has 10-inch ears and copper red kernels on plants that grow to 9 feet tall. Its originator is in question as either the Wampanoag Indians or Mr. John Brown of Long Island, New Hampshire. Strawberry popcorn has small 3-inch-long ears with ruby red kernels, on short, 4-foot plants. Its kernels turn white when popped. Blue Hopi is an heirloom variety of Indian corn used to make blue corn chips and blue tortillas. It has large, 9-inch ears with 10 to 18 rows of dark blue kernels and grows on 12-foot plants.

Multicolored Varieties

• Rainbow Indian corn produces red, blue, orange, pink and gold on large, 10-inch ears with white or purple husks. It's an heirloom variety that is commonly used for decoration in the fall and holiday seasons. Painted Mountain is a multi-colored variety developed by Dave Christensen in the 1970s from a corn gene pool of over 70 native western corns. It produces colored ears with pinks, oranges or yellows mingled with dark blue kernels.