Oats
Title | Info |
---|---|
Common name | Oats |
Scientific name | Avena sativa |
Taxonomic group | Poaceae |
Source | Dan L. Perlman |
Economic botany | Food plants |
Food plants | Grains and cereals |
Keywords | Gramineae |
Oat. This grain has not been cultivated as long as wheat or barley; its history only stretches back to the Bronze Age in Europe. When oats are used as animal feed, both the grain and the green parts of the plant are used. Humans eat the grains in many forms, especially as breakfast cereals. Compared with other grains, oats are especially high in protein, fat, and water-soluble fiber. Wild oats (some scientists consider them to be a separate species, Avena fatua, while others consider the wild form to be just a sub-species of A. sativa), grow as weeds in various parts of North America.