Uses For Wild Oats - Avena Fatua

Uses For Wild Oats - Avena Fatua
Other Common Names: Ch'Iao Mai, Oats, Yen Mai, Avena fatua

Range: Europe to Asia, Canada and USA.

Habitat: A common weed of arable land and waste ground.

The wild oat is considered a pest to agriculture more than anything else.

The seeds are diuretic, emollient and refrigerant.

Seed - cooked. 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 flavor. 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 (cookies), sourdough bread etc. The seed can also
be sprouted and eaten raw or cooked in salads, stews etc.

The straw has a wide range of uses such as for bio-mass, fiber,
mulch, paper-making and thatching. Some caution is advised in its use
as a mulch since oat straw can infest strawberries with stem and bulb
eel worm.

See also: Common Oats - Avena Sativa