Wild Oats Helping Mule Deer Helping Wild Oats

It's that beautiful time of the year when gentle breezes blow fields of Wild Oats in southern California. As the line from "America the Beautiful" suggests, there are "amber waves of grain" to be found in the late spring. The Wild Oats provide food for Mule Deer. In turn, the Mule Deer act as carriers for the Wild Oat seeds.

Here we see the green, compact seed heads of Wild Oats. Wild Oats are native grasses. When we think of grass, we think of the grass of a lawn or a school yard. If no one mowed these lawn grasses, they would grow up tall and make seeds, just like Wild Oats.

The spring rains stop. With no water, the Wild Oats start to change from green to pale amber. There are tiny hairs on the seed coats. These catch on the bodies of Mule Deer as they walk through fields. The seeds fall out of their seed coats and stick to the Mule Deer's fur. As the Mule Deer walks, it shakes off the dried seeds. The seeds are taken to a new place to grow.

The seeds fall out of their coat and stick to the Mule Deer's fur. As the Mule Deer walks, it shakes off the dried seeds. The seeds are taken to a new place to grow.


So the Mule Deer helps spread the Wild Oat seeds. The Wild Oats provide food for the Mule Deer. There is a fancy word for this...symbiosis (sim bee oh sis). It means two different living things are helping out each other.


What are some other examples symbiosis? Why do people spend so much time planting trees, flowers, and grass? Why do people feed, groom, and play with pets?

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