Structural Development of the Oat Plant

The anatomical structure and morphology of the oat plant (Avena sativa L.) have been reviewed previously by Hector (1936), Bonnett (1961a,b) and Coffman (1977). In addition, Bonnett published detailed accounts of oat panicle development (1937, 1961a,b). This work has been summarized by Esau in her book, Anatomy of Seed Plants, in 1977. It is not the purpose of the present authors to simply go over all this same material again in a repetitive fashion, but rather, to emphasize some of the more recent and previously overlooked work on structural development of the oat plant, with emphasis on the major cultivated species, A. sativa (see Stanton, 1955; Coffman, 1977 for descriptions of this species). The material presented here should be of use to oat breeders, agronomists, and plant physiologists.