Corn continues to be the backbone of modern American agriculture. Coronado found corn to be a major staple of Pueblo Indians on his expedition into the Southwest in 1540. In the past and present, corn is an important element in Native American religious rituals. Although Pueblo tribes planted may different colored corns, blue corn became one of the most important. It was generally dried on rooftops, stored as grain on the cobs, shelled, and ground into meal as needed.
Most blue corns grown in the Southwest are typically flour corns.
Kernels are made up of almost all soft, floury endosperm covered by a thin, evenly distributed layer of hard, corneous endosperm. The outer endosperm is made up of a single layer of cells containing blue pigment, and is called the aleurone layer. A thin, transparent layer of crushed cells called the pericarp covers the entire kernel and serves and the seed coat. Pigmentation can occur in the pericarp and the main body of the endosperm, but the blue associated with the blue corn is normally found in the aleurone layer. The shape of the kernel is highly variable.