oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass grass, any plant of the family Gramineae, an important and widely distributed group of vascular plants, having an extraordinary range of adaptation. Numbering approximately 600 genera and 9,000 species, the grasses form the climax vegetation (see ecology ) in great
..... Click the link for more information. family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other grains—perhaps c.2500 B.C. During the Bronze Age, the time when horses were first used as draft animals, oats were widely grown in N Europe but were apparently still uncultivated by the civilizations around the Mediterranean. They have a high nutritive value, but of the oats now grown commercially, less than 5% is for human consumption, chiefly in the form of rolled oats or oatmeal for breakfast foods; they do not contain the glutenous type of protein necessary for making bread. The chief value of oats remains as a pasturage and hay crop, especially for horses. Oats are valuable also in crop rotation and have various industrial uses. Oat hulls are a source of furfural furfural (fûr`fərəl) or furfuraldehyde
..... Click the link for more information. , and oat flour has been used as a food preservative in ice cream and other dairy products. Oat straw is preferred by farmers for animal bedding. Diseases such as cereal rusts and smuts (see diseases of plants diseases of plants. Most plant diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Although the term disease is usually used only for the destruction of live plants, the action of dry rot and the rotting of harvested crops in storage or transport is similar
..... Click the link for more information. ) cause a heavy annual crop loss, but disease-resistant varieties of oats are being developed. Oats rival corn and wheat as a leading grain crop in the United States (the country of highest production), Canada, N Europe, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The common cultivated species (A. sativa), native to Eurasia, is no longer found growing wild. Like wheat, it is broadly classified into spring and winter types, depending upon the season of planting. Oats are classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
..... Click the link for more information. , class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae.
Hardy cereal plant (Avena sativa), cultivated in temperate regions, that is able to live in poor soil. The edible starchy grain is used primarily as livestock feed, but is also processed into rolled oats and oat flour for human consumption. High in carbohydrates, oats also provide protein, fat, calcium, iron, and B vitamins. Oat straw is used for animal feed and bedding.
..... Click the link for more information. family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other grains—perhaps c.2500 B.C. During the Bronze Age, the time when horses were first used as draft animals, oats were widely grown in N Europe but were apparently still uncultivated by the civilizations around the Mediterranean. They have a high nutritive value, but of the oats now grown commercially, less than 5% is for human consumption, chiefly in the form of rolled oats or oatmeal for breakfast foods; they do not contain the glutenous type of protein necessary for making bread. The chief value of oats remains as a pasturage and hay crop, especially for horses. Oats are valuable also in crop rotation and have various industrial uses. Oat hulls are a source of furfural furfural (fûr`fərəl) or furfuraldehyde
..... Click the link for more information. , and oat flour has been used as a food preservative in ice cream and other dairy products. Oat straw is preferred by farmers for animal bedding. Diseases such as cereal rusts and smuts (see diseases of plants diseases of plants. Most plant diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Although the term disease is usually used only for the destruction of live plants, the action of dry rot and the rotting of harvested crops in storage or transport is similar
..... Click the link for more information. ) cause a heavy annual crop loss, but disease-resistant varieties of oats are being developed. Oats rival corn and wheat as a leading grain crop in the United States (the country of highest production), Canada, N Europe, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The common cultivated species (A. sativa), native to Eurasia, is no longer found growing wild. Like wheat, it is broadly classified into spring and winter types, depending upon the season of planting. Oats are classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
..... Click the link for more information. , class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae.
oats
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Mature oats (Avena sativa).
(credit: Grant Heilman/Grant Heilman Photography, Inc.)
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