Avena barbata

Avena barbata is a species of wild oat known by the common name slender wild oat. It has edible seeds. It is a diploidized autotetraploid grass (2n=4x=28). Its diploid ancestors are A. hirtula Lag. and A. wiestii Steud (2n=2x=14), which are considered Mediterranean and desert ecotypes, respectively, comprising a single species. A westie and A. hirtula are widespread in the Mediterranean Basin, growing in mixed stands with A. barbata, though they are difficult to tell apart. This is a winter annual grass with thin tillers (stems) growing up to 60 to 80 centimeters in maximum height, but known to sometimes grow taller. The bristly spikelets are 2 to 3 centimeters long, not counting the bent awn which is up to 4 centimeters in length. Avena barbata largely reproduces by selfing in natural populations, with very low rates of outcrossing. A. barbata is native to central Asia (as far east as Pakistan) and the Mediterranean Basin. As an introduced species it also occurs in other Mediterranean-like habitats of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay. In Europe it has been reported in Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Bulgaria, and Austria. In North America it is an introduced species and noxious weed, where it is especially widespread in California. In California it has displaced native species of grass.California Invasive Plant Council It is also found in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Genetic evidence indicates that A. barbata in Argentina and California originated from Spain, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.