Abstract
Detailed cytological investigation has been made on Coix lacryma-Jobi var. ma-yuen, a soft-shelled cultivated taxon, collected from North East India. The count of 2n=30 for this species is the first hexaploid record for the genus. The previous reports have all been di-tetra or octoploids with a few aneuploids. Meiosis has been found to be somewhat irregular with a few multivalents and univalents along with bivalents in all the PMCs. The karyotype is unspecialized belonging to 1A category and the chromosomes are similar to the other varieties of C. lacryma-Jobi in size and morphology. The origin of this cyto-type is only speculative and the evidence indicates that it is probably a hybrid.
