Wild Red Oat (Noun)
Meaning
Mediterranean oat held to be progenitor of modern cultivated oat.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- The wild red oat is valued for its robust plant type and deep root system which may confer drought tolerance to modern oat varieties.
- Geneticists believe the wild red oat is a progenitor species of the cultivated oat crops of today due to the remarkable similarity.
- Much of the genetic diversity for the modern oat can be traced to its common ancestors, the wild red oat growing in Mediterranean region.
- Studies of the wild red oat proved it shares an identical DNA sequence with some extant strains of domesticated oats, verifying relationship.
- Using genetic markers, scientists found the Mediterranean oat varieties have originated from wild red oat populations native to the area.