The Department of Agriculture maintains 52 samples of teosinte at the Southern Regional Plant Introduction Station in Experiment (Griffin), Georgia (30202). These represent all the annual species of teosinte and most of the populations. Supplies are limited because the seed are not easily increased--isolation blocks in Puerto Rico are used. In order to help in the selection of samples for study, a listing by population is presented (Table 1), with information taken from the Catalogue of Seed Available at the Southern Regional Plant Introduction Station-Warm Season Grasses (January, 1977) and from the Plant Inventory of the USDA (1965 to 1973).

There are other lists of samples available or once used (H. G. Wilkes, 1967, Teosinte: the Closest Relative of Maize, Tables 1 and 2, Appendix 1; Wilkes, 1972, Pl. Genet. Res. Newsl. 28:3-10; T. A. Kato Y., 1976, Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 635: Table 1). It can be seen that a number of populations or cultivars used in previous studies are missing from the collection (Table 2). It includes only seventeen of the 61 samples studied by Kato.

Anyone who can supply to the USDA the materials in Table 2 is urged to do so, as much seed as possible up to a quarter kilo. In some cases, return of samples in Table 1, if increased carefully, would be welcome (letter from James T. Strickland, Dec. 19, 1978). All accompanying information should be included.

Table 1.

Table 2.

Robert McK. Bird

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