Avena sativa L.

Common Oats

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Common Oats is an introduced annual in the Grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia. Common Oats is widely cultivated for its grain, and it is often used for erosion control on roadsides and as forage for livestock. It can be found throughout Alabama. Common Oats occurs on roadsides, in pastures, and in disturbed urban areas. It is a cespitose cool season annual with fibrous roots. The culms are erect, 1-4 feet in height, glabrous, and blueish-green in color. The leaves are linear, and scabridulous. Flowers are produced in spikelets arranged in nodding terminal panicles. The spikelets are 2-7 flowered. The glumes are large, about equal in length, and have 9-11 veins. The lemmas are un-awned or with a short straight awn. The florets do not seperate from the glumes, and remain attached to the plant even after maturity. The fruit is a grain.—A. Diamond.

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Not Native GNR (Global Rank)

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