Oats
The oat (Avena sativa), sometimes called the common oat,
is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which
is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike
other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are
suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled
oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed.
Oats are a nutrient-rich food associated with lower
blood cholesterol when consumed regularly.[1]
The wild ancestor of Avena sativa and the closely
related minor crop, A. byzantina, is the hex aploid wild
oat A. sterilis. Genetic evidence shows the ancestral
forms of A. sterilis grew in th e Fertile Crescent of
the Near East.