What is Oat?
{{speciesbox | name = Oat | image = | image_caption = Oat plants with [[inflorescence]]s | genus = Avena | species = sativa | authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] (1753) }} The '''oat''' (''Avena sativa'') is a [[cereal]] [[grain]]. It is [[food]] for people and other [[animal]]s, for example, [[chicken]]s and [[horse]]s. [[Oatmeal]] is made from oats. Oat [[straw]] is used as bedding for animals. [[Porridge]] is made only from [[whole grain]] oats. It forms an excellent part of a balanced diet for the following reasons: # Oats are rich in both [[soluble]] and insoluble [[fiber]]. # Oats are a place to get [[energy]]. As a rich place to get complex [[carbohydrate]]s, they provide a slow release of energy over the morning – in that way they reduce the desire to eat ‘quick energy release’ sugar-based foods. # Oats are also a good place to get [[protein]]. # Oats are also a good place to get [[vitamin B1]]. ==Origin== The wild [[ancestor]] of ''Avena sativa'' and the similar minor crop, ''A. byzantina'', is the [[Polyploidy|hexaploid]] wild oat ''A. sterilis''. Science of [[DNA]] shows that the ancestor forms of ''A. sterilis'' grew in the [[Fertile Crescent]] of the [[Near East]]. [[Domestication|Domesticated]] oats appear later. They are also far from the Near East, in [[Bronze Age]] Europe. Oats are like [[rye]]. They are normally thought as a less important crop, i.e. coming from a [[weed]] out of the main [[cereal]]s [[wheat]] and barley As these cereals spread into cooler, wetter places, this may have favored the oat weed. This quickly leads to its common use.<ref>Zhou, X., Jellen, E.N., Murphy, J.P. 1999. Progenitor germplasm of domesticated hexaploid oat. ''Crop science'' 39: 1208–1214</ref> ==Cultivation== [[Image:OatsYield.png|thumb|300px|right|Worldwide oat yield]] Oats are grown all over [[temperate]] places. They have a lower [[summer]] [[heat]] need and are able to survive more [[rain]] than other cereals like [[wheat]], [[rye]] or [[barley]]. Oats are an [[annual plant]], and can be planted eith