Herb: Hungarian Oat


Latin name: Avena orientalis


Synonyms: Avena sativa orientalis


Family: Gramineae (Grass Family)



Medicinal use of Hungarian Oat:

The seed is diuretic, emollient and refrigerant.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Annual


Flowering:
June
to July

Habitat of the herb:

Dry wasteland, cultivated ground and meadows, especially on heavier soils.

Edible parts of Hungarian Oat:

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 flavour. 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, sourdough bread etc. The seed can also be sprouted and eaten raw or cooked in salads, stews etc. The hull is incompletely attached to the grain, yielding a naked seed easily upon threshing. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Other uses of the herb:

The straw has a wide range of uses such as for bio-mass, fibre, 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 eelworm.

Propagation of Hungarian Oat:

Seed - sow in situ in early spring or in the autumn. Only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.

Cultivation of the herb:

Dry wasteland, cultivated ground and meadows, especially on heavier soils.

Known hazards of Avena orientalis:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.