Tassel-Ears in Corn

A corn plant exhibits both male flowers and female flowers (a flowering habit called "monoecious" for you trivia fans.) Interestingly, both flowers are initially bisexual (aka "perfect"), but during the course of development the female components (gynoecia) of the male flowers and the male components (stamens) of the female flowers abort, resulting in tassel (male) and ear (female) development. Once in a while, the upper flower that typically becomes a tassel instead forms a combination of male and female floral parts on the same reproductive structure. This "tassel-ear" is an odd-looking affair and is found most commonly on tillers or "suckers" of a corn plant along the edges of a field. Without a protective husk covering, the kernels that develop on tassel-ears are at the mercy of weathering and exposed to hungry birds. Consequently, harvestable good quality grain from tassel-ears is a rarity.

--Bob Nielsen, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University