This dark popcorn bears comparatively many small cobs with small, round grains. These are almost black, with a blue-green shimmer.

Unlike sweet corn, pearl corn is not directly edible for humans due to its hard nutritive tissue and must be processed before consumption. Dry heating, such as roasting, creates great pressure inside the starchy kernel, which eventually causes the seed coat to burst. The heated starch erupts explosively and expands to about 20 times its volume. In this popped form, pearl corn is edible. However, its grains can also be cooked or ground to corn flour and processed further. Popcorn is differentiated due to its kernel shape into pearl type (round) and rice type (pointed).

• Edible Seeds
• Type of Fruit Cob with caryopsis
• Culinary Group Cereals
• Taste neutral
• Trivial Names (maize in general) Mais, Kukuruz, Welschkorn, Türkischer Weizen, Woaz, Türk Woaz, Granoturco, Blé d'Inde, Maize, Corn, Maíz, Maïs, Blé de Barbarie, Blé de Guinée, Blé de Turquie, Froment des Indes
• Trivial Names (variety and type) Perlmais, Puffmais, Knallmais, Popcorn, Pop-Corn, Popping maize, Popping corn, Pearl popcorn, Round-seeded popcorn, Hulless popcorn, Pointed-grained popcorn, Rice popcorn, Maïs soufflé, Maïs éclaté, Tactac, Maïs fulminant, Maïs perlé, Blauer-Cutie-Perlmais, Blue-Cuties
• Size (Cob) 6 cm
• Taxonomy Poaceae (Grasses) Zea mays ssp. mays convar. everta, Syn. Zea mays ssp. mays (Everta-Group), Syn. Zea mays convar. microsperma
• Origin Mesoamerica (Map)
• Donated by Maisprojekt Anhalonium 2017