8 
Journal oj Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXX, No. 1 
Thellung {ISO) published a very com¬ 
prehensive paper on the origin, syste¬ 
matic position, and cultural history of 
the cultivated species of oats. He used 
Koch’s name Avena byzantina for the 
cultivated varieties which have arisen 
from the wild Avena sterilis. A de¬ 
scription of Avena byzantina is given, 
together with the synonomy. This 
species had been called Avena sterilis 
forma parallela by Haussknecht, Avena 
sativa var. biaristata by Hackel, and 
Avena algeriensis by Trabut. Thel¬ 
lung predicted that by using rational 
selection methods a true-breeding race 
having sativa characters could be pro¬ 
duced from byzantina. He states that 
the biological and ecological relations 
of Avena byzantina also serve to distin¬ 
guish this species from Avena sativa. 
The experiments of Trabut in Algeria 
and experiences in the Cape Province 
of South Africa, in Australia, and in the 
southern United States have shown that 
the varieties derived from Avena sterilis 
are best able to withstand the climatic 
conditions found in these regions. 
Schulz {119) also uses the name Avena 
byzantina for the cultivated varieties 
which are supposed to have arisen from 
the wild Avena sterilis. Avena byzan¬ 
tina is said to occupy an isolated posi¬ 
tion. Most of the varieties of this 
species resemble those of Avena sativa 
in appearance but may be distinguished 
from it by the method of articulation 
and other characters. Schulz stated 
that Avena byzantina may be called the 
Mediterranean oat, as it occurs in 
Spain, Algeria, and Mesopotamia. It 
is said that oats of this kind were known 
by the Greeks and Romans. 
Schulz {120) has written a history of 
the cultivated oats, including their no¬ 
menclature. He uses the name Avena 
byzantina for the cultivated polymor¬ 
phous varieties of the Mediterranean 
group. He states that many forms of 
Avena byzantina closely resemble Avena 
sterilis , while other forms can scarcely 
be distinguished from Avena sativa. 
The Avena algeriensis of Trabut is con¬ 
sidered synonymous with Avena byzan¬ 
tina. 
Zade {153) gives a description of the 
kernels of Avena byzantina which are 
sometimes found in oat seed. He states 
that this species somewhat resembles 
the intermediate resulting from crossing 
between Avena sativa and A. fatua but 
that the kernels are longer and the form 
of the kernel base intermediate, a very 
unusual condition for the products of 
the crossing above mentioned. 
Zade {155) carried on studies with 
oat species and varieties. He consid¬ 
ers that Avena byzantina probably has 
arisen from Avena sterilis , as Avena 
sativa has arisen from Avena fatua. He 
states that this morphologically dis¬ 
tinct species is a true intermediate be¬ 
tween the cultivated and wild oats. 
The papers quoted above show un¬ 
mistakably that the name Avena by¬ 
zantina is used commonly to designate 
the cultivated varieties derived from 
Avena sterilis, and that it has been used 
in this sense since 1848, when Koch 
{63, p. 392) published the first descrip¬ 
tion of this species. 
Trabut has made detailed botanical 
studies of red oats and has published 
a number of papers {131, 132, 133,134, 
and 135), one of which has been trans¬ 
lated into English {135). He holds 
that Avena sterilis has given rise to oats 
adapted to the warm countries and to 
saline soils, and Avena barbata has 
given rise to races adapted to dry 
countries. Experiments in the United 
States have shown the Burt oat to be 
adapted both to southern conditions 
and dry climates. Trabut believes 
that Avena sterilis byzantina, as he 
here names it, has largely lost the 
characters of the sterilis type and 
constitutes the last stage before reach¬ 
ing the cultivated form. With regard 
to it he wrote as follows: 
In 1907 M. Hackel wrote me that he considered 
this form as intermediate between Avena sativa 
and Avena sterilis and named it provisionally Avena 
sativa biaristata. 
Hitchcock {52, p. 110-113), who 
describes oat species found in North 
America, states, apparently on the 
authority of Trabut {135) and Norton 
(99): 
The Algerian oat grown in North Africa and 
Italy and the red oat of our Southern States are 
derived from A. sterilis. A few varieties adapted 
to dry countries are derived from A. barbata. 
Warburton {149) points out that— 
the theory that all our cultivated varieties of oats 
have not been derived from Avena fatua, but that 
certain forms adapted to warm climates have been 
developed from A. sterilis, is not, however, entirely 
new. 
He cites Norton {99) as having previ¬ 
ously held that idea and takes excep¬ 
tion to the following editorial statement 
which precedes the English translation 
(135) of Trabut’s article: 
The prevailing belief that oats can not be grown 
in the southern United States is probably based 
on the fact that all the experiments made there have 
been with cold-climate oats. A great deal of money 
has already been lost by such attempts, foredoomed 
to failure because of unsuitableness of the material, 
although suitable material might have been had, 
and the country’s wealth thus enormously increased 
had growers studied the genetic history of the cul¬ 
tivated oats earlier. 
Warburton apparently believes these 
statements to be misleading and er- 
