Glass Gem Corn Greg Schoen

Oklahoma farmer Carl Barnes, who died in 2016, isolated types of corn from his Native American ancestors.

Barnes saved and replanted seeds from particularly colorful cobs.

A fellow farmer started growing larger plots of the rainbow-colored corn and made new strains with more vibrant colors and patterns.

Glass Gem corn, a unique variety of rainbow-colored corn, became an internet sensation in 2012 when a photo of the sparkling cob was posted to Facebook.

Shortly after, the company that sells the rare seeds, Native Seeds/SEARCH, began ramping up production to meet the high demand. The Arizona-based companystill sells Glass Gem seedson its website.

Meanwhile, a Facebook page devoted to Glass Gem allows growers to share pictures of the vibrant corn variety.

But the story behind Glass Gem is just as remarkable. It begins with one man, Carl Barnes, who set out to explore his Native American roots.

The history was largely retold by Barnes‘ protegee, Greg Schoen, in 2012, when the corn gained national attention. We’ve broken out the highlights.

This article was originally published in 2013 and has been updated because the story is timeless.

This multi-colored corn is real and there’s a fantastic story behind it

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