common oat

(Avena sativa)

Conservation Status
common oat
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNA - No Status Rank

SNA - No Status Rank

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Most of the spikelets have 2 flowers. The florets do not readily separate from the glume. The lemma is hairless.

The seed head usually has no awn or an imperfectly developed awn. Sometimes it has a single, ¾ to 1½ long awn. When the awn is present it is straight or arched but is unbent or weakly bent, and it is not twisted. The awn drops when the seed is ripe.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

16 to 71

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Wild oat (Avena fatua) is a more vigorous plant. Most spikelets have 3 flowers. The florets readily separate from the glume. The lemma is densely hairy on the backside. The seed head has 2 awns that are twisted, appearing spiraled, especially near the base, and has an abrupt, knee-like bend.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

 

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 22, 28, 29, 30.

 
         
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Common oat is a cultivated plant and is not native anywhere. It occasionally escapes cultivation, but it rarely persists. It is not naturalized.

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Liliopsida (monocots)  
 

Order

Poales (grasses, sedges, cattails, and allies)  
 

Family

Poaceae (grasses)  
  No Rank BOP clade  
  Subfamily Pooideae  
  Supertribe Poodae  
  Tribe Poeae  
  Subtribe Aveninae  
 

Genus

Avena (oats)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Avena byzantina

Avena fatua var. sativa

Avena hybrida

Avena sativa var. orientalis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

common oat

common oats

oat

oatgrass

oats

red oat

side oat

tree oat

wild oats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Awn

A stiff, bristle-like appendage at the tip of the glume, lemma, or palea of grass florets.

 

Glume

A chaffy, empty, sterile bract at the base of a grass spikelet. Glumes usually occur in pairs, but occasionally only one is present.

 

Lemma

The outer, lowermost of the pair of bracts at the base of the grass floret; it ensheaths the palea.

 

Spikelet

The basic unit of inflorescence in grasses, composed of usually two glumes and one or more florets.

 
 
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Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Avena sativa (with translation text)
cortesdm
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on May 17, 2011

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1190

 

 

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