BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
CaMBRIDGE, MAssaAcHUsETTS, NOVEMBER 26, 1954 Vor. 16, No. 10 
ON THE ORIGIN OF OATS 
BY 
Dexter R. Sampson 
INTRODUCTION 
Man has long been interested in the origin of his culti- 
vated plants, for they are the foundations upon which his 
various civilizations have been built. Primitive peoples 
frequently regarded their plants as gifts of the gods, but 
modern man seeks more natural explanations, both to 
satisfy his curiosity and to provide a sound basis for plant 
improvement projects. 
The present paper is an attempt to bring together the 
available evidence on the origin of oats,the world’s fourth 
most important cereal crop (Stanton, 1953). It is pro- 
posed to attack the problem by reviewing: the several 
systems of classification of the genus Avena L., together 
with the geographical distributions of the species; the 
cytological and genetical interrelations; and finally, the 
impact of man upon the genus. 
The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to 
Elizabeth Alden and Tatiana Taitschevsky who trans- 
lated Russian references and to Drs. Albert F. Hill and 
Paul C. Mangelsdorf for their valuable criticisms and 
suggestions. 
Parr I. CLassIvICATION AND DISTRIBUTION 
The genus Avena is generally considered as consistin 
fo] > y 
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