oats

oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other grains—perhaps c.2500 B.C. During the Bronze Age, the time when horses were first used as draft animals, oats were widely grown in N Europe but were apparently still uncultivated by the civilizations around the Mediterranean. They have a high nutritive value, but of the oats now grown commercially, less than 5% is for human consumption, chiefly in the form of rolled oats or oatmeal for breakfast foods; they do not contain the glutenous type of protein necessary for making bread. The chief value of oats remains as a pasturage and hay crop, especially for horses. Oats are valuable also in crop rotation and have various industrial uses. Oat hulls are a source of furfural, and oat flour has been used as a food preservative in ice cream and other dairy products. Oat straw is preferred by farmers for animal bedding. Diseases such as cereal rusts and smuts (see diseases of plants) cause a heavy annual crop loss, but disease-resistant varieties of oats are being developed. Oats rival corn and wheat as a leading grain crop in the United States (the country of highest production), Canada, N Europe, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The common cultivated species (A. sativa), native to Eurasia, is no longer found growing wild. Like wheat, it is broadly classified into spring and winter types, depending upon the season of planting. Oats are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Cyperales, family Gramineae.

Coarse annual grass (Zizania aquatica) of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae) whose grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of American Indians. Despite its name, the plant is not related to rice. Wild rice grows naturally in shallow water in marshes and along the shores of streams and lakes in northern central North America. Cultivated varieties are now grown in Minnesota and California. The plant, about 3–10 ft (1–3 m) tall, is topped with a large, open flower cluster. The ripened grains, dark brown to purplish-black, are slender rods 0.4–0.8 in. (1–2 cm) long.

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Hardy cereal plant (Avena sativa), cultivated in temperate regions, that is able to live in poor soil. The edible starchy grain is used primarily as livestock feed, but is also processed into rolled oats and oat flour for human consumption. High in carbohydrates, oats also provide protein, fat, calcium, iron, and B vitamins. Oat straw is used for animal feed and bedding.

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Rolled/Oats is a single released by Lemon Jelly on 6 August, 2003, and their second limited edition release (their first was Soft/Rock).

The 7" single, featuring remixes of tracks from the Lost Horizons album, was limited to 1,200 copies and released as a gold picture disc, each coming in its own hand-stitched hessian sleeve. The A-side, Rolled, is a remix of The Curse Of Ka'Zar and features a sample from Feel Like Makin' Love by Bad Company, while the B-side, Oats, is a remix of Closer and features a sample from George Michael's Heal The Pain.

Track listings

1. "Rolled"
2. "Oats"