Bearded Oat

Images ©:
©

Bearded Oat - Paul Gullan/Viridans Images

Avena barbata

Erect or drooping tufted introduced grass to 100 cm tall. Hairless flat leaves grow mostly from the base, 30 cm long and 8 mm wide. Flowering units (spikelets) are pyramid-shaped, loose and one-sided. They become papery as they mature.

Details
Flora Type
Grasses
Distinctive Features

Seeds are split in two and have long silky hairs and extend into two fine bristles, with a bent awn 25 mm long.
Biology

Annual. Common weed of disturbed land including roadsides, railyards and pasture. Able to outcompete native grasses. Can increase fire frequencies. Prolific seed production with the buried seed able to stay dormant until disturbed. Mainly germinates after autumn rains.
Native Status
Introduced
Flowering Time

Sep-Jan
Taxonomy
Phylum
Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)
Class
Magnoliopsida (Flowering Plants)
Order
Poales
Family
Poaceae
Genus
Avena
Species
barbata

Source: Atlas of Living Australia

Very invasive weed. Forms an extensive, fibrous root system and secretes chemicals to suppress the growth of other plants.

Interesting Facts
Similar Species

Resembles wild oats, Avena fatua with two long, bent awns (bristles) on each flower.
Native Status
Introduced