Oat Straw plant profile
Oat Straw has two parts - the Oat Straw itself, the green, unripe stems and leaves of the plant -and the Milky Oat tops (what eventually become the groats you eat for breakfast).
Oat Straw is considered a nourishing herb, meaning it is deeply nutritive, abundantly available in nature, and a nervine that is considered safe to be used daily over long periods of time. She is supportive to building back the body’s energy reserves and stamina, especially when someone is experiencing chronic fatigue or needs movement when they’re feeling “stuck.”
Energetically, Oat Straw has a lot of air element, meaning she affects the mind. She is calming and quieting, bringing clarity and removing brain fog. She helps to reset the energetic field when we are spending too much time on screens, or feeling overstimulated or overloaded with information, and reminds us that it’s okay to move slowly and do nothing at all.
She often moves upward and outward, like many plants with the air element, and she has a gentle, glowing and uplifting energy, assuring us that it is safe to feel joy. She is supportive in times of worry or uncertainty, reminding us we can always return to our hearts for the answers we seek.
She is supportive to any kind of nerve injury and Oat Straw and milky oat seed tincture are often used for conditions affecting the nervous system such as anxiety, tension, nerve pain, PTSD, and addiction. She is a strong ally to those who suffer from generalized tension, anxiety, and racing thoughts, as well as those who are attempting to end their relationship with substances. She is supportive to building back the body’s energy reserves and stamina, especially when someone is experiencing chronic fatigue or needs movement when they’re feeling “stuck.”
Oat Straw is moistening to the mucous membranes and will ease hot, dry conditions, especially affecting the skin. She is a strong ally for any who suffer from eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, or seasonal dry skin and the oats love to be used in a bath, rinse, or poultice for relief.
Milky oats are very high in calcium and other minerals, making her a strong ally for bones, nails, and connective tissues. She is also very supportive to new mothers, fortifying their bodies and helping to support milk production. She is a reproductive tonic, supportive to restoring libido and reconnecting with our sensuality.
Latin Name: Avena Sativa
Common Name: Oat Straw, Milky Oats, Oats
Part(s) Used: Seed (milky oats) Stem (Oat straw)
Energetics: Sweet, Salty, Moistening/demulcent, neutral
Herbal Actions: Nutritive, nervine, anxiolytic, antispasmodic, demulcent, hypotensive, antidepressant, reproductive tonic, vulnerary, vasodilator
Personally, Oat Straw comes to me a supportive cheerleader and guide. She helps me sort through what is actually true, encouraging me to “mellow out” and “loosen up” (funny, because she is an antispasmodic great for relieving tension in the mind, as well as the body including overuse of muscles, joints, and tendons). She also tells me that it’s okay to “take our time when we’re learning to trust ourselves again.”
She’s been a great ally to me in times of anxiety or ruminating thoughts, encouraging me to get out of my head and get back into the body. She reminds me that my heart always knows the way when I feel lost or unsure and whispers, “keep returning to the heart” in times of fear or overwhelm. This feels fitting since she is great heart medicine, helping to lower cholesterol, and strengthening the heart muscles and circulatory vessels.
Harvesting: Harvest milky oat tops in the spring when the tops are in their “milky phase” and tincture them fresh. Harvest Oat Straw after the milky oat tops have hardened but the stems are still green.
Cultivation: Often used as a cover crop, she helps to restore soil by adding calcium and balancing soil pH, as well as preventing erosion. over crop, entire plant can be used. Oats can be sown in both early spring and late summer/early fall in a nice, sunny spot.
Herbal Preparations: Like most of the nourishing herbs, Oat Straw likes to be used as a daily, overnight infusion or a milky oats tincture, used over time. She is yet like most herbs and especially the nourishing herbs, needs daily devotion and time to work her magic.
A final note on Oat Straw:
Herbalist Deb Soule especially recommends Oat Straw in late summer, the midway point between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox. She writes that “late summer is the time to fully take in and assimilate all the experiences we have tended and nurtured since spring” (Soule, 2013, p. 105).
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