Seedling height and length and width of the first leaf were observed on 29 parental maize varieties. These characters, together with seed weight and percentage of seedling emergence, are very influenced by the year and place of seed production. Nevertheless it is possible to use them in a discriminant analysis to identify the variety or at least a small group of varieties to which an unknown seed belongs. There is no relation between seed weight and the other characters. The width of the first leaf seems to be the most interesting character for distinguishing the varieties.