18-03-2004, 11:45 PM
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Avena sterilis (Oat) A weed?
In article ,
writes
I'm madly sowing seeds as usual at this time of the year and trying to
use some I had left over from the HPS orders. I was unable to find
mention of this plant in any of my books but on the Internet I came
across a description and found that it is described as a Class A
noxious weed in some American states. If this is the case why on earth
would anyone go to the trouble of collecting the seeds and sending
them to the HPS to be laboriously packed a few at a time in little
packets? I was hoping I would find that it is an interesting grass
type plant. Is anyone familiar with it? Diana
No plant is a weed unless it is growing where it is not wanted. In your
case, you wished to propagate Avena sterilis, so for you it need not be
considered a weed.
Avenae are a group of plants listed by RHS as Helictotrichon, a genus in
the Gramineae/Poaceae family. They are described by RHS as: 'A group of
about 50 species of russock-forming, deciduous and evergreen perennial
grasses from rocky slopes, wasteland, field edges etc. in temperate
Europe, W. Asia and N. America. ...... Use in a herbaceous or mixed
border, or for gravel plantings, where they associate well with purple
or silver-leaved plants.'
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.
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