Native Americans living in the southwest of Mexico domesticated maize and brought it to places as far North as the Gaspé peninsula in Canada and as high as the Sacred Valley in Cusco, Perú. During this process, maize adapted to longer days, lower temperatures, and a phenomenal diversity of environments. In this talk, I will present current knowledge about the genetic changes that allowed maize adaptation to this wide array of growing conditions and our recent results on the role of phospholipid metabolism in maize highland adaptation.