The principal of this sub-species is the panicle which is of the stem axis. Side branches on the panicle stem, but branches definitely turn to one side also tend to turn upward more than in common oats. Like in the common oat, lemmas and paleas adhere to the kernel and may be black, gray, yellow or white in color. Uses of Oats Oats are a nutritious feed for all classes of livestock. The hull, composed of lemma and palea, comprises on the average about 23 percent of the weight of the whole grain.
Oats are high in mineral content and also in several vitamins.
Formerly largely fed to horses, oats are now used as feed for dairy cattle and poultry as well. Oat hulls from milling are used in poultry mash. For food use, the groat or inner kernel is rolled into flakes and used as oat meal in breakfast foods and baking. Oat flour contains an antioxidant which is used to preserve quality by delaying rancidity. Oat flour may also be mixed with wheat flour for multigrain baked products.