Avena sterilis

Sterile oats, Wild winter oat

Poaceae Edible: Seeds, Cereal 2,177 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Avena sterilis (animated oat, sterile oat, wild oat, wild red oat, winter wild oat; syn. Avena ludoviciana Durieu; Avena macrocarpa Moench; Avena sterilis ssp. sterilis; Avena sterilis ssp. ludoviciana) is a species of grass weed whose seeds are edible. Many common names of this plant refer to the movement of its panicle in the wind.

Description

A tall annual grass. It is green or bluish-green. The stems can be single or in groups. The leaves are narrow and about 15 mm wide. They can have some hairs on the edges. The ligule is 4-6 mm long. The flower is a loose panicle. The spikelets droop on slender stalks. The awn is slender and 30-60 mm long and twisted below a distinct elbow. The flowers fall as a unit and the spikelet does not break up.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seed Edible Uses: Coffee Seed - cooked. The seed ripens in the latter half of summer and, when harvested and dried, can store for several years. It has a floury texture and a mild, somewhat creamy flavour. It can be used as a staple food crop in either savoury or sweet dishes. The seed can be cooked whole, though it is more commonly ground into a flour and used as a cereal in all the ways that oats are used, especially as a porridge but also to make biscuits, sourdough bread etc. The seed can also be sprouted and eaten raw or cooked in salads, stews etc. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Distribution

It is a Mediterranean plant. It grows on cultivated and waste ground. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 800 m above sea level. Tasmanian Herbarium.

Where It Grows

Africa, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Europe, France, Greece, Italy, Mediterranean, Middle East, Portugal, Slovenia, South America, Spain, Syria, Tasmania, Turkey, Türkiye, Uruguay,

Cultivation

Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in full sun. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 8. Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, the yields are lower than those of A. sativa. It is probably a parent of the cultivated species of oats. This species could be of value in any breeding programme for the cultivated oats (A. sativa) where it could confer disease resistance and higher yields. Oats are in general easily grown plants but, especially when grown on a small scale, the seed is often completely eaten out by birds. Some sort of netting seems to be the best answer on a garden scale.

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in early spring or in the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.

Other Uses

Fibre Mulch Paper Thatching The straw has a wide range of uses such as for bio-mass, fibre, mulch, paper-making and thatching. Some caution is advised in its use as a mulch since oat straw can infest strawberries with stem and bulb eelworm. Special Uses

Notes

There are about 25 Avena species.

Synonyms

Avena sativa subsp. sterilis (L.) de Wit

Also Known As

Jalovi oves

References (13)

Blamey, M and Grey-Wilson, C., 2005, Wild flowers of the Mediterranean. A & C Black London. p 525
Brouk, B., 1975, Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, London. p 26
Holden, J.H.W., 1979, Oats, in Simmonds N.W.,(ed), Crop Plant Evolution. Longmans. London. p 86
Hussey, B.M.J., Keighery, G.J., Cousens, R.D., Dodd, J., Lloyd, S.G., 1997, Western Weeds. A guide to the weeds of Western Australia. Plant Protection Society of Western Australia. p 44
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 1

Show all 13 references

Lamp, C.A., Forbes, S.J. and Cade, J.W., 1990, Grasses of Temperate Australia. Inkata Press. p 90
Lazarides, M. & Hince, B., 1993, Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia, CSIRO. p 29
Paczkowska, G. & Chapman, A.R., 2000, The Western Australian Flora. A Descriptive Catalogue. Western Australian Herbarium. p 98
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Sp. pl. ed. 2, 1:118. 1762
Tasmanian Herbarium Vascular Plants list p 82
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Zeven, A. C. & de West, J. M. J., 1982, Dictionary of cultivated plants and their regions of diversity. Wageningen. p 108