The oat, sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name. Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds resembled those of other cereals closely enough for them to be included by early cultivators. Oats tolerate cold winters less well than cereals such as wheat, barley, and rye, but need less summer heat and more rain, making them important in areas such as Northwest Europe that have cool wet summers. They can tolerate low-nutrient and acid soils. Oats grow thickly and vigorously, allowing them to outcompete many weeds, and compared to other cereals are relatively free from diseases.
Avena is a genus of Eurasian and African plants in the grass family. Collectively known as the oats, they include some species which have been cultivated for thousands of years as a food source for humans and livestock. They are widespread throughout Europe, Asia and northwest Africa. Several species have become naturalized in many parts of the world, and are regarded as invasive weeds where they compete with crop production. All oats have edible seeds, though they are small and hard to harvest in most species.
Dovyalis is a genus of shrubs and small trees. Recent genetic evidence has shown the genus to belong to the family Salicaceae; formerly it was classified in the family Flacourtiaceae. The 15 species are native to Africa and southern Asia. Some are cultivated for their fruit.
Guizotia abyssinica is an erect, stout, branched annual herb, grown for its edible oil and seed. Its cultivation originated in the Eritrean and Ethiopian highlands, and has spread to other parts of Ethiopia. Common names include noog/nug ; ramtil or ramtilla; niger or nyger seed ; inga seed; and blackseed. Noug has been described as semi-domesticated, self-incompatible crop with yellow flowering heads and seeds. Recent studies have revealed the regional genetic diversity of some noug populations grown in Ethiopia based on RAPD and AFLP markers.
Avena sterilis is a species of grass weed whose seeds are edible. Many common names of this plant refer to the movement of its panicle in the wind.
Hagenia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant with the sole species Hagenia abyssinica, native to the high-elevation Afromontane regions of central and eastern Africa. It also has a disjunct distribution in the high mountains of East Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia in the north, through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, to Malawi and Zambia in the south. A member of the rose family, its closest relative is the Afromontane genus Leucosidea.
The Abyssinian genet, also known as the Ethiopian genet, is a genet species native to Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and Djibouti. It is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. It is one of the least-known genet species.
Xylotheca kraussiana is an African shrub or small multi-stemmed tree in the family Achariaceae. It grows in the sandveld and is widely distributed throughout the eastern parts of Southern Africa, in particular the eastern Transvaal, coastal Natal and Mozambique, preferring the sandy soils of coastal bush and forest.
Osyris lanceolata, also known as African sandalwood, watta bush or Camwood, is used for its scented wood and to extract essential oil. The semi-parasitic plant is found from South Africa to Zimbabwe and east Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda; northwest Africa; the Canary Islands and the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula. It grows in rocky areas or along the margins of dry forest, but is usually not abundant in any one place.
Ochna serrulata is an ornamental garden plant in the family Ochnaceae which is indigenous to South Africa. It is planted in southern African gardens and is an invasive species in Australia and New Zealand.
Rothmannia globosa is a small but highly decorative South African tree of the family Rubiaceae. It occurs in evergreen forest and along forest margins in the Eastern Cape and north to Limpopo Province and Eswatini.
Oxytenanthera is a genus of African bamboo. Bamboos are members of the grass family Poaceae.
Ficus natalensis is a tree in the family Moraceae. It is commonly known as the natal fig in South Africa. In central and western Uganda, where it has an important cultural value, it is known as omutuba to the Baganda people and omutoma to the Banyakitara peoples. In English is sometimes referred as barkcloth fig. It is commonly mistaken for its cousin the Ficus thonningii also known as mugumo to the Agikuyu. These trees are distributed from north-eastern South Africa to Uganda and Kenya.
Sclerocroton integerrimus, the duiker berry, is a tree in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is from Southern Africa.
Steganotaenia araliacea is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Diospyros abyssinica is a tree species in the family Ebenaceae.
Acokanthera oblongifolia is a plant in the family Apocynaceae. It grows as an evergreen shrub or small tree up to 6 metres (20 ft) tall. Its fragrant flowers feature a white tinged pink corolla. The berries are purple when ripe. Its habitat is dry forest and coastal thickets. Acokanthera oblongifolia is used in local African medicinal treatments for snakebites, itches and internal worms. The plant has been used as arrow poison. The species is native to Mozambique and South Africa.
Cassinopsis ilicifolia is a spined, straggling shrub or liane in the family Icacinaceae. It is native to the moister regions of southern Africa. It is named ilicifolia due to the leaves with somewhat serrated leaf margins, which resemble those of the genus Ilex.
Euphorbia abyssinica, commonly known as the desert candle or candelabra spurge, is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. E. abyssinica is endemic to Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea. It was first described in 1791, by the German botanist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. In its native habitat, it can grow up to 10 m (33 ft) tall. The woody stem is used for firewood and as timber in roofing, furniture and other items, and the sap is used in traditional medicine. It is also cultivated as an ornamental house plant.
Lippia abyssinica, or koseret, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It is endemic to Ethiopia but cultivated throughout tropical African countries. The specific epithet abyssinica derives from Latin and means 'of or from Ethiopia (Abyssinia)'.
