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wild oat

barbed oat

Habit Annuals, the culms to 1 m. tall, hollow. Annuals up to 1 m. tall, the culms hollow, glabrous or with a few long hairs.
Leaves

Sheaths open;

ligules 3-6 mm. long, obtuse to acute, puberulent;

blades 3-10 mm. broad, scabrous, often with a few long hairs.

Sheath open;

ligules 2-4 mm. long, puberulent, obtuse;

blades 3-6 mm. broad, scabrous, flat.

Flowers

Inflorescence a large, open panicle, the spikelets pendulous;

spikelets usually 3-flowered, the rachilla readily disarticulating between the florets, strongly bearded;

glumes membranous, the first 7-nerved, the second 9-nerved;

lemmas densely bearded on the callus, the upper portion greenish, but the tip membranous and acutely bilobed for 1 mm.; first 2 florets with twisted, strongly-bent awns up to 4 cm. long;

lodicules 2 mm. long.

Inflorescence a large, open panicle, the spikelets pendulous;

spikelets 2- or 3-flowered;

glumes 2.2-2.5 cm. long, exceeding the upper floret, membranous, the first 7-nerved, the second 9-nerved;

lemmas with stiff, reddish hairs on the lower half, split at the tip into 2 pointed teeth;

paleas shorter than the lemmas;

rachilla prolonged behind the upper floret;

lodicules 2 mm. long.

Fruits

Utricle

Utricle

Avena fatua

Avena barbata

Flowering time May-September May-June
Habitat Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas. Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced from Eurasia Introduced Eurasian
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
A. barbata, A. sativa
A. fatua, A. sativa
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