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Poaceae FAMILY

Avena sterilis

Avena sterilis

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
Growth—

Originally from Mediterranean and semi-arid climates, Avena sterilis can succeed in a range of climates from cold temperate to subtropical, higher elevations in the tropics and also semi-arid[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 12 - 32°c, but can tolerate 2 - 36°c[2]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -10°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 800mm, but tolerates 290 - 1,200mm[2]. Succeeds in any moderately fertile soil in full sun[3]. Tolerant of heavy soils[1] and poor soils[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8[2]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible seed, the yields are lower than those of Avena sativa[4]. It is probably a parent of the cultivated species of oats[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.

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ in early spring or in the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Avena+sterilis>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Plants for Man. — Schery. R. W. ↩︎Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
  5. [5]Plants Consumed by Man. — Brouk. B. · Academic Press · 1975 · ISBN 0-12-136450-x ↩︎Readable but not very comprehensive.
  6. [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  7. [7]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.