Avena barbata Pott ex Link, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: barbed oat, bearded oat, slender oat, slender wildoat

French: avione barbue, avoine à deux barbes

Spanish: avena barbada, balango, ballueca, cebada de perro, cebadilla

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Tufts green to dark green, often very slender, 65-100-(170) cm, erect or drooping above in taller plants. Leaf-sheath smooth, or slightly scabrid above, occasionally red-tinged. Ligule 2.7-5-(9) mm, obtuse, denticulate, abaxially finely scabrid. Leaf-blade 12.5-30 cm x 2-8 mm, finely scabrid on ribs and margins. Culm internodes glabrous. Panicle (12)-18-40 cm, very lax, equilateral; rachis smooth, branches and pedicels very filiform, finely scabrid. Spikelets 40-50 mm, 2-(3)-flowered; disarticulation below each floret at maturity. Glumes 7-9-nerved. Lemma 12-18 mm, narrow-lanceolate, light brown, with long stiff reddish hairs below level of awn insertion, green and scabrid above, each lobe-tip produced to a fine bristle (2-3 mm); lemmas awned, awns 30-36 mm, geniculate, column very dark brown, twisted. Palea keels with 1-2 rows of cilia, interkeel glabrous, flanks sometimes sparsely scabrid. Callus long hairy, with horse-shoe shaped scar. Rachilla long hairy. Anthers 2-3 mm. Caryopsis 5-7 x 0.8-1.3 mm, light brown, silky hairy" (Edgar & Connor, 2000; p. 302).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand, "near the sea, especially on cliffs, dry banks, and steep grassy slopes, occasionally inland on disturbed ground, roadsides and in pasture"  (Edgar & Connor, 2000; p. 302).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Macaronesia, northern Africa, Europe, Asia (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 11) "A weed of disturbed soil". Voucher cited: R.D. Hoogland 8657 (CANB)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 215) Very common in the basal region, abundant in the dry western parts.
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 551)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 215) East coast.
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 551)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Santa Clara	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 215)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Santa Clara	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Santa Clara	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 551)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Morro El Verdugo	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 551)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Morro Juanango	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 551)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2002) (p. 13) Voucher cited: L. W. Cuddihy 238 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1499) Voucher cited: Hitchcock 13934 (US)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 23)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 192)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 302)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Avena barbata is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Avena barbata as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Avena barbata may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Edgar, E./Connor, H. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, vol. V: Gramineae. Manaaki Whenua Press. .

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 2. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 137 pp. + plates.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Skottsberg, Carl. 1953. The natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Vol. II, Botany. Almqvist &l; Wiksells, Uppsala. 960 pp.

Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. 2002. New Hawaiian plant records for 2000. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 68:3-18.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).