Label the Corn Parts – Corn Plant Worksheet With a Key

All 8 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Tassel The male flowers, at the top of the stalk. They shed pollen.
Stalk The thick main stem. It carries the leaves, the ear and the tassel.
Node A joint of the stalk. One leaf grows from each node.
Leaf Long and narrow. Leaves grow one at each node, on alternate sides.
Ear The female flower head, wrapped in husk. Its kernels grow here.
Silk Soft threads at the tip of the ear. Each leads to one kernel.
Brace roots Roots that grow from the lowest nodes above the ground.
Roots The roots under the soil. They take up water and nutrients.

How this list was compiled: Every name was checked on 2026-09-30 against sources read that day; a name is kept only when two of them use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Maize, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize (the leafy stalk; long narrow leaves arising from the nodes or joints, on alternate, opposite sides of the stalk; the tassel at the top of the stem, male flowers whose anthers release pollen; the female inflorescence, the ear, first seen as silk, one soft hair for each flower, each of which develops into a kernel; the ear or corncob wrapped in leafy layers called husks; kernels in rows around the cob) and Corncob, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corncob (the hard core of an ear, bearing the kernels). (2) Purdue University, Department of Agronomy, R. L. Nielsen, Corny News Network: Tassel Emergence and Pollen Shed, https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/Tassels.html ; Silk Development and Emergence in Corn, https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/Silks.html (each silk connects to one ovule, a potential kernel; silks emerge from the husk leaves; cob); Ear Size Determination in Corn, https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/EarSize.html (ear shoots form at stalk nodes, behind the leaf sheath; husk leaves); Root Development in Young Corn, https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/Roots.html (nodal roots; the sets that form at stalk nodes above the ground are commonly called brace roots; roots take up water and nutrients). (3) Kansas State University Research and Extension, Corn Growth and Development, MF3305, https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3305.pdf (tassel, silks, husks, kernels, nodal roots; brace roots develop at the lower nodes above the ground). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain curves; own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the parts of a corn plant, write a name on each numbered line. Eight numbers run down the plant: the tassel at the top, the ear and its silk halfway up, two kinds of roots at the foot.

Read the full guide

Corn labeling worksheet word bank

In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: brace roots, ear, leaf, node, roots, silk, stalk, tassel.

Node or stalk, brace roots or roots

A node (3) is one of the small bands across the stalk (2), the thick main stem. One leaf (4) grows from each node. The ear (5) is the wrapped shape between a leaf and the stalk, and the silk (6) is the bunch of threads at its tip. Brace roots (7) start above the soil and slant into it. The roots (8) spread under it.

When marking, take stem for the stalk, joint for the node, prop roots for brace roots and corn silk for the silk.
The husk, the kernels and the cob have no number on this sheet. They are named on the peeled ear of the labeled corn plant.

Questions and answers

Is corn a grass?

Yes. Corn, also called maize, is a tall grass grown for its grain. It is an annual with a single stem, the stalk.

How tall does a corn plant grow?

From about 4 to 13 feet, which is 1.2 to 4 meters. The tassel is the top of the stem.

Is a corn kernel a seed or a fruit?

It is often called a seed. To a botanist each kernel on the ear is a fruit joined to its seed coat, the kind every grass has, called a caryopsis.