SimplePlant

Poaceae

Common oat

Avena sativa L.

Family
Poaceae
Genus
Avena

Pets and kids

  • CatsSafe
  • DogsSafe
  • KidsSafe
Why

Cats: Safe

Sources below say it is non-toxic to cats. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.

Dogs: Safe

Sources below say it is non-toxic to dogs. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.

Kids: Safe

Sources below say it is non-toxic to young children. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.

Common oat (Avena sativa)
FlowerPhoto: Colin Meurk, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Is Common oat safe for cats, dogs and kids?

Is Common oat safe for cats?

Our sources call Common oat non-toxic to cats. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.

Is Common oat safe for dogs?

Our sources call Common oat non-toxic to dogs. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.

Is Common oat safe for kids?

Our sources call Common oat non-toxic to young children. Any plant can upset a stomach if a lot is eaten.

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.

Common names

By language (66)
Afrikaans
Hawer
Albanian
Tërshëra
Arabic
ﺷﻮﻓﺎن, زمير, زيوان, هرطمان
Aragonese
Cevada, Civada
Asturian
Alcacer, Avena
Azerbaijani
Əkin yulafı
ba
Һоло
Basque
Olo
Belarusian
Авёс пасяўны
bo
ཡུག་པོ།
Bosnian
Zob
Breton
Kerc'h
Bulgarian
Овес, Посевен овес
Catalan
Civada
Chinese
燕麥, 燕麦, 蓧麥, 野麦子, 铃当麦, 香麦
Croatian
Zob
Czech
Oves setý
Danish
Almindelig Havre
Dutch
Haver
English
Common oat, Oat, Oats
Esperanto
Aveno, Kutima aveno
Estonian
Kaer
Filipino
Obena
Finnish
Kaura, Peltokaura
French
Avoine, Avoine cultivée
Galician
Avea
German
Echter-Hafer, Hafer, Saat-Hafer
Greek
Βρώμη, Βρόμη
Haitian Creole
Avwàn
Hebrew
שיבולת-שועל
Hindi
जई
Hungarian
Abrakzab
Icelandic
Hafrar
Indonesian
Haver
Italian
Avena
Japanese
エンバク, 燕麦, オーツ麦, オートムギ, オート麦, マカラスムギ
Javanese
Haver
Korean
귀리
Latvian
Sējas auzas, Auzas
Lithuanian
Sėjamoji aviža
Macedonian
Овес
Malagasy
Varintsoavaly
Malayalam
ഓട്ട്സ്
nan
Iàn-be̍h
Norwegian Bokmål
Havre
Occitan
Civada
pcd
Avin·ne
Persian
ﻳﻮﻻف
Polish
Owies zwyczajny
Portuguese
Aveia, Aveia-comum
Romanian
Ovăz
Russian
Овёс, Овёс посевной, Овёс кормовой, Овёс обыкновенный
sah
Эбиэс
Serbian
Ovas
Sinhala
යව
Slovenian
Navadni oves, Orientalski oves
Swahili
Oti
Swedish
Havre
Telugu
ఓట్స్
Thai
ข้าวโอ๊ต
Turkish
Beyaz yulaf
Ukrainian
Овес, Вівсяна крупа
Vietnamese
Yến mạch
vro
Kaar
Walloon
Avoenne, Avon.ne, Awin.ne
Welsh
Ceirch, Ceirchen

Synonyms

  • Avena agraria var. mutica Brot.
  • Avena algeriensis Trab.
  • Avena anglica Roem. & Schult.
  • Avena byzantina subsp. pseudosativa (Thell.) E.Morren
  • Avena byzantina var. thellungiana (Malzev) Tab.Morais
  • Avena cinerea Roem. & Schult.
  • Avena dispermis Mill.
  • Avena distans Schur
  • Avena fatua f. brachytricha Thell.
  • Avena fatua f. glaberrima Thell.
  • Avena fatua f. macrathera Thell.
  • Avena fatua f. setulosa Thell.
  • Avena fatua subsp. macrantha (Hack.) Malzev
  • Avena fatua subsp. nodipilosa Malzev
  • Avena fatua subsp. praegravis (E.Krause) Malzev
  • Avena fatua subsp. sativa (L.) Thell.
  • Avena fatua var. brachytricha (Thell.) Malzev
  • Avena fatua var. contracta (Neilr.) Thell.
  • Avena fatua var. contracta Neilr.
  • Avena fatua var. glaberrima (Thell.) Malzev
  • Avena fatua var. macrotricha Malzev
  • Avena fatua var. microtricha Malzev
  • Avena fatua var. pilifera Malzev
  • Avena fatua var. pilosa (Koeler) Malzev
  • Avena fatua var. sativa (L.) Hausskn.
  • Avena fatua var. subuniflora Trab.
  • Avena fatua var. transiens Hausskn.
  • Avena flava Roem. & Schult.
  • Avena fusca Schur
  • Avena fuscoflora Schur
  • Avena georgiana Roem. & Schult.
  • Avena georgica Zuccagni
  • Avena georgica Zuccagni
  • Avena glabrata Brot. ex Steud.
  • Avena glabrata Hausm.
  • Avena grandis Nevski
  • Avena heteromalla Moench
  • Avena heteromalla Haller
  • Avena hungarica Lucá
  • Avena macrantha (Hack.) Nevski

and 89 more.

Flowers

In flower
March to July, October (from 69 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour
yellow (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Graminoid
Lifespan
Annual
In the US and Canada
Alaska: introduced, Canada: introduced, Greenland: introduced, Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced, St. Pierre and Miquelon: introduced

Photos

More in Avena

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.