There are five different types of corn, and of these (viz. sweet, dent, flint, pod, and popcorn), popcorn is the only corn that pops. Popcorn (Zea mays L. indurata) is a popular snack food throughout the world. Kernels of popcorn range in colour from off-white to light gold, to red, black and many colours in between. When kernels of popcorn are heated, they explode and produce large puffed flakes (popping). Once popped, popcorn has two basic shapes: snowflake or butterfly, which pops big and is shaped like a cumulus cloud; and mushroom, which pops into a round ball. Added feature of popcorn is its light and crunchy texture.

Popcorns are perhaps the most primitive of the surviving races of maize. This corn type is characterized by a very hard, corneous endosperm containing only a small portion of soft starch. Popcorns are essentially small-kernelled flint types. The kernels may be either pointed (rice-like) or round (pearl-like). Some of the more recently developed popcorns have thick pericarps (seed coats), while some primitive semi-popcorns, such as the Argentine popcorns, have thin pericarps. It is used primarily for human consumption as freshly popped corn or as the basis of popcorn confections. Besides their use as a popular snack, ground popcorn, as flour or grits, can be used in the preparation of many traditional dishes. Isolated planting is not necessary in case of popcorn, since there are no major xenia effects on popping expansion and many popcorns are cross-sterile with field corn. Although conditions for growing popcorn are the same as for dent corn, special harvesting, drying and storage practices are necessary to maintain popping quality.

Popcorn plant type has some distinctive characters compared to normal corn. The plant type is lanky. The tassel is highly branched and the branches are droopy. The ear placement is higher up compared to normal corn. Often the prolificacy is more in fertile soils with good management. It is very common to find two ears per plant. In many popcorn types there is a tendency of tillering and the brace roots are also fewer compared to normal corn. In popcorn several grain colours are grown viz., white, yellow, red ete. However, yellow types are more common. As discussed already that there are two main types of popcorn - rice type• and pearl type. The rice type popcorn kernels are common in white grain types. They are typically beaked i.e. long and pointed at the tip. Pearl type of popcorn is more common than the rice type. It has smooth and round kernels and is common in yellow grain type. Based on the type of flalces produced on popping, popcorn is further classified as butterfly type (flat flakes) and mushroom type (compact globose flakes).