296 Avena fatua L.

This species is supposed to originate from the E. Mediterranean region and the Near East, although China is also mentioned as a possible origin. It was widely spread as a weed in the rural landscape. It occurs now for instance in C. and S. Africa, E. Asia, N. and S. America and New Zealand. The present distribution is almost circumpolar (Hultén, Circumpol. I, p. 222 and map 211).