oat
The oat plant has long, narrow leaves, with the grain hanging downwards. The grain has a high proportion of husk, not easily removed, and therefore relatively little is used as human food.
Type of annual grass, a cereal crop. The plant has long narrow leaves and a stiff straw stem; the panicles of flowers (clusters around the main stem), and later of grain, hang downwards. The cultivated oat (A. sativa) is produced for human and animal food. (Genus Avena.)
| It was an early domesticant (as a weed in the wheatfields) and survived cool temperatures where wheat had trouble growing. It is especially hardy in northern Europe. |
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