Avena orientalis
| Avena orientalis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Avena orientalis (common name: hungarian oat)
Propagation: Seed - sow in situ in early spring or in the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species, but it should be possible to grow it as a spring-sown annual in Britain, and might also succeed as an autumn-sown crop. Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, especially in S.E. Europe[1][2], this species is considered to be no more than a part of A. sativa by many botanists[3][4]. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in full sun[5].
Oats are in general easily grown plants but, especially when grown on a small scale, the seed is often completely eaten out by birds. Some sort of netting seems to be the best answer on a garden scale.
Range: S. Europe?
Habitat: Dry wasteland, cultivated ground and meadows, especially on heavier soils[5].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[1][2][6][7]. The seed ripens in the latter half of summer and, when harvested and dried, can store for several years. It has a floury texture and a mild, somewhat creamy flavour. It can be used as a staple food crop in either savoury or sweet dishes. The seed can be cooked whole, though it is more commonly ground into a flour and used as a cereal in all the ways that oats are used, especially as a porridge but also to make biscuits, sourdough bread etc. The seed can also be sprouted and eaten raw or cooked in salads, stews etc. The hull is incompletely attached to the grain, yielding a naked seed easily upon threshing[7].
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.
Medicinal: The seed is diuretic, emollient and refrigerant[8].
Usage: The straw has a wide range of uses such as for bio-mass, fibre, mulch, paper-making and thatching[9]. Some caution is advised in its use as a mulch since oat straw can infest strawberries with stem and bulb eelworm.
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: A. sativa orientalis. Hook.f.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Brouk, Bohuslav. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, 1975.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.