Milky Oat Monograph - Avena Sativa
Milky Oat Monograph - Avena Sativa
Photography, Art and Writing by Freya Fawn Giles
Common Name - Milky Oats
Latin Name - Avena Sativa
Plant Family - Poaceae/Gramineae (Grass family)
Botanical description and History - Oats are a tall plant, reaching heights of up to 1-1.5 metres with grass-like stems and leaves. Its characteristic seeds hang down from thin but tough stems that emerge from the top of the plant.(3) Avena is in the Poaceae (also called the Gramineae), the grass family, which is one of the largest families of plants and with one of the widest distributions. This family contributes a significant portion of the human diet and includes rice (Oryza), wheat (Triticum), corn (Zea), sugar cane (Saccharum), rye (Secale), along with others.(2)
Parts of plant used - Fresh milky seeds (immature), grass dried for oatstraw, Mature seeds dried for oats or saved for seed (1)
Taste - Sweet, nutritive
Tissue State - Cold/Depression, Dry/Atrophy (5)
Energetics - Cooling, Moist
Planetary affinities - Moon, Venus, Jupiter (5)
Medicinal actions - Tonic, Nervine, Relaxant, Stimulant, Antispasmodic, Anti-depressant, Nutritive, demulcent (especially as porridge), Vulnerary, Endocrine Restorative (1). Nervine tonic (2) Nervous system exhaustion or burnout, drug withdrawal, reproductive and sexual Health, nourishment for bones, hair, teeth and nails
Types of preparations - Green tops of the common oat plant are used dried in infusions; tinctures; capsules.(3) My recommendation is to tincture the milky tops immediately after picking and thoroughly dry oat grass parts for oatstraw tea.
Dosage - Avena preparations are some of the safest nervine remedies. While they don’t have the punch of some, they rarely leave one feeling addled or tired. The amount used is really just an individual decision. The main suggestion is to use it on a regular basis. And schedules can help bring order to a scattered mind, so consider using them at a regular time throughout the day. The tincture is also useful to take throughout the day, ½-2 dropperfuls (.60-2.5ml) as often as needed, taking larger amounts when troubling circumstances lie ahead (or behind). (2)
Milky Oats Tincture: 1:2, 5 mls, 3-5 times daily
Dried Oatstraw: 1 ounce (28 grams) decocted in 1 quart water daily (4)
The spirit of MIlky Oats - Milky oats are an exceptionally effective and useful nervine trophorestorative remedy to soothe nerve exhaustion and repetitive cortisol overloads.Trophorestoratives herbs help to restore and heal specific organs and tissues in the body. Milky oats specifically work with the nervous system. Long term use is recommended to regain strength and stimulate the body's natural healing process. If taking the tincture or glycerite, note that it could take a little bit of time to feel the full effect. Whether you’re battling anxiety, chronic stress, nervous exhaustion or general burnout, milky oats can help revitalize and nourish frayed and depleted nerves with its calming and gentle caress. Also note Milky Oats are a light anti- depressant, endocrine restorative, relaxant and anti-spasmodic. Who doesn't need this medicine !! These elegant and delicious oats are an ally for folks who are experiencing cortisol overloads, anxiety, frayed nerves, mental and emotional exhaustion and fatigue to name a few. I often feel this is medicine for activists, land protectors, abuse survivors, really anyone with trauma. It is my choice medicine for dealing with environmental anxiety, navigating the anthropocene and collapse of ecosystems around me. Freya
A fresh milky oats alcohol extract is a soothing restorative to the nervous system. Herbalists often describe “milky oats people” as those whose nervous systems are “fried” or “crispy.” Think of milky oats tincture for people who have been “going, going, going” for far too long. “Type A burnout” is another excellent specific indication. A person who may benefit from milky oats might describe themselves as depleted or drained. David Winston describes them as someone who is emotionally brittle due to chronic stress and recommends using milky oats alongside adaptogens. (4)
Milky Oats have a combination of qualities that make them useful for folks suffering from nervous tension whether brought on by anxiety, depression, injury, overwork or excess stress from a variety of life circumstances. They are mildly anti-depressant, helping to increase energy without being overstimulating which is great as insomnia is often a symptom of nervous tension. The herb can be very useful for those who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction as it will help to rebalance their damaged nervous systems. (5)
Folklore - Milky Oats reveals its most folkloric roots in the age old preparation of Oatmeal and/or Gruel, and Porridge. In many Eclectic traditions, oatmeal made into the consistency of milk applied when children were malnourished and suffering from ‘summer diarrhoeal disorders’. In this category of gastric distress it has also been indicated for adults in dysentery as a demulcent drink in the consistency of milk. (1)The white milk of fresh green Oat seeds makes me think of magickal Moon milk and the herb helps us to deal with the ever-changing experiences of life, much as we learn when working with the lunar rhythms. As the New Moon calls us to begin a cycle of emergence and to slowly expand our energy after a period of waning contraction, Milky Oats are richly nutritious lending us foundational strength for the work ahead. The generous nutritive qualities of Milky Oats give us a hint to its magickal uses, which are primarily for prosperity and abundance rituals. (5)
Cultivation - In our gardens we use Milky Oats not just for its medicinal virtues, but also soil remediation. Oats are an excellent cover crop to help protect and enrich soil. The roots help to stabilize soil and release needed calcium and magnesium when plant matter is turned into the soil. Oats are a cool season, fast growing crop. I plant them in early May and harvest in July. There is a short window where the oat tops are milky, about a week. Nearing mid July, I will start pinching oat tops daily to watch for the magical latex to appear. I harvest the oats and tincture immediately, then later harvest the oatstraw. I often cut back the stalks to where the oat stalk emerges from the grass, and a second batch will grow and be harvested in September. I usually save these for tea making and aslo let them go to seed. This second batch does not usually go milky but has a few times.. The rest of the plant I work into the soil gently and let its plant matter nurture the land.
Safety - Oats and oat straw are safe for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding Oats are often produced in factories Containing wheat products, therefore they may contain gluten and are therefore contraindicated for use by people with Celiac disease.(3)
Quotes - Musing - Poetry
“It is a stimulant, sedative and direct nutritive tonic, apparently restoring the wasted elements of nerve force.”1”
—Finley Ellingwood, American Materia Medica
“It seemingly acts well in the exhaustion following typhoid and other low fevers and is thought to hasten convalescence, particularly where there is much nervous involvement and enfeebled action of the heart.”
—Harvey Wickes Felter, The Eclectic Materia Medica
“[Fresh milky oats] is the finest nervous system trophorestorative in the materia medica. It gently and gradually helps restore nervous system balance, reducing anxiety, irritability, reactivity, and emotional lability. It is very useful for children or adults with ADHD (be sure to check for gluten sensitivity first), for drug withdrawal (opiates, cigarettes, alcohol, amphetamines, ecstasy), anxiety, and anxious depression.3”
—David Winston
But let whoever is worn out with paralysis and as a result has a split mind and empty thoughts, so that the person is somewhat insane, be in a sweat bath when the wheat in the hot water in which it has been cooked is poured over the hot stones. Let them do this often; they will return to themselves and gain sanity.” (Hildegard’s Healing Plants, 7)
References and Research
1.https://www.herbrally.com/monographs/oats written by Lara Pacheko
2.https://7song.com/avena-a-monograph-on-oats-as-medicine/ 7song
3. https://www.herbalreality.com/herb/wild-oats/
4. https://www.learningherbs.com/blog/oats-uses#gsc.tab=0 written by Rosalee de la Forêt
5.https://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog/nourishing-the-soul-milky-oat-plant-profile