Oats
Oats exact origin is unclear and is only known in cultivation. The oldest known remains of cultivated oat were found in Switzerland caves dating back to about 1000 BC. Avena includes about 30 species which can be diploid, tetraploid, or hexaploid.
Scientific Name: Avena sativa
Common Name: Common Oat, Oats, Spring Oats
Plant Family: Poaceae
Traditional Uses
Oat has been used as fodder and food since the ancient times. In Ethiopia, it is used to make injera which is pancake-like bread, tella which is local beer, and many other items! In industrialized countries, oat grain is used as animal feed. In Australia, oat is used to bind sand on dunes.
Medicinal Uses
Oat has a lot of protein and amino acids, with a high level of lysine. The fibre can reduce blood cholesterol in humans because of its β-glucan. Oat has shown beneficial effects on gastro-intestinal functions due to hypoglycaemic activity. Oat bran can prevent dental issues. Oat grain and straw can treat general debility and many nervous conditions as well as help a person cope with the exhaustion of insomnia, multiple sclerosis, and chronic neurological pain.
Edible Parts
The grain is used a source of edible oil and in many food products such as cookies, meat extenders, crackers, bread, cereal, baby foods, and more. Oat flour extends the shelf life of fatty foods like vegetable oils.
Gathering and Using
The straw is used as forage, livestock bedding, roofing material, and fuel. Hulled and ground out grain can be fed to poultry and pigs. The straw from oats has many uses including mulch, building board and thatching, fibre, bio-mass, and paper-making.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
Can be mixed with vetch, pea, clover, and other small grains and legumes. Oat straw extract prevents feeding by the striped cucumber beetle. Adding oat grains into bath water will help to keep skin soft due to its emollient action.
Habitat
Oat can be found in dry wastelands, cultivated ground and meadows, and cultivated beds. It is not as sensitive to frost as wheat and needs more water than any other cereal except rice.
How to Identify
Oat is an erect annual grass that has a root system characterized by fibers with stems that can be tufted or solitary. Its leaves are simple and they alternate. Its seeds are viable for a relatively long period of time.
Additional Information
Pests include cutworms, army worms, mature rats and birds, grasshoppers, and some species of beetles such as weevils. This species is hermaphrodite, meaning it has both female and male organs, is self-fertile, and is pollinated by the wind.