Common Oat
Avena sativa
Found in fields and disturbed areas, commonly planted but not long-persistent. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 2–4 feet
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- March to July
- Fruiting season
- Summer
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 35 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Avena
- Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Apamea amputatrixYellow-Headed Cutworm Moth
- Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Cercyonis pegalaCommon Wood Nymph
- Dargida diffusaWheat Head Armywotm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
Show all 22
- Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Fissicrambus mutabilisStriped Webworm, Striped Sodworm, Changeable Grass-Veneer
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Leucania pseudargyriaFalse Wainscot
- Leucania subpunctataWhite-Dotted Wainscot, Forage Armyworm
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
39BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Avena
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Agelaius tricolorTricolored Blackbird
- Anser albifronsGreater White-fronted Goose
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Aphelocoma californicaCalifornia Scrub-Jay
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
Show all 39
- Cyanocitta stelleriSteller's Jay
- Eremophila alpestrisHorned Lark
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Gymnorhinus cyanocephalusPinyon Jay
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Melanerpes erythrocephalusRed-headed Woodpecker
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Passerculus sandwichensisSavannah Sparrow
- Patagioenas fasciataBand-tailed Pigeon
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Phasianus colchicusRing-necked Pheasant
- Pheucticus ludovicianusRose-breasted Grosbeak
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Spinus tristisAmerican Goldfinch
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizella pusillaField Sparrow
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
- Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusYellow-headed Blackbird
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Grows in clumps
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Grows in clumps” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Oats
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications