5 Flower Remedies in Homeopathy

American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “The earth laughs in flowers.” And if you stop to consider all the ways plant life has helped humanity, you’ll know that the earth heals through flowers, too. For homeopathy, flowers have long been the source of active ingredients providing indispensable relief for a wide range of ailments. Of the many in use, here we discuss five spring flowers commonly used as homeopathic remedies.

Crocus
Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron crocus, is best known for being the source of the costly spice that is obtained from the filaments that grow inside the flower. The remedy is used widely in homeopathy and standards for the preparation of the remedy are found in the German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States and the Indian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. Its uses are well documented in no less than 143 Materia Medicas, including those by Allan, Boger, Boericke, Nash and Phatak. Vermeulen and Johnston describe the plant and its uses in detail in their book Plants.

Hyacinth
Of the two species known as the Common or Garden Hyacinth and the Wild Hyacinth (or Bluebell) it is the latter that has the more interest to homeopaths. Hyacinthus orientalis (Common Hyacinth) is widely cultivated everywhere in the temperate world for its strongly fragrant flowers which appear exceptionally early in the season, and frequently forced to flower at Christmas time indoors and Spring in the garden. It is used in Herbal medicine and aromatherapy but does not appear in any of the main Materia Medica or National Pharmacopoeias. Agraphis nutans (Wild Hyacinth or English Bluebell) is a perennial plant found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the UK and Ireland. The remedy appears in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States and in the French Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. There are brief entries in Materia Medic-as by Boericke, Clarke, Murphy, and Fatal. Further information in Plants. Keynotes include catarrh, deafness, and diarrhea.

Narcissus
There are two closely related Springtime flowering species, commonly known as the Daffodil and the Narcissus. They arenative to Europe and other temperate areas. Narcissus pseudonarcissus (Daffodil) has a long history of being used medicinally. Traditional Japanese medicine uses the root to treat wounds. Daffodil bulbs contain an alkaloid the action of which varies as to whether the alkaloid is extracted from the flowering bulb or from the bulb after flowering. It is thus important that the appropriate parts of the plant are used for production of a homeopathic remedy. There is a monograph in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States but surprisingly, for such an iconic Spring flower, not in other major Pharmacopoeias. The remedy appears Materia Medica and similar volumes. JH Clarke, Boericke both state in their Materia Medic that Daffodil is a remedy for cough and bronchitis, continuous cough, coryza and frontal headache. The remedy can also be found in Allan and Murphy. The plant and two cases are described by Vermeulen and Johnston.

About Narcissus poeticus (Narcissus), Clarke reports that “a salad of onions in which were mixed some bulbs of Narcissus poeticus caused tormina, burning, copious stools with dreadful griping, obtuse senses, fainting, cold hands, cold sweat.” The plant appears to have little homeopathic use. It is included in Allen, Bradford’s Index of Homeopathic Provings and Vermeulen’s Source and Substance.

Snowdrop
Galanthus nivalis, (Snowdrop) is native to a large area of Europe from the UK and Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east, growing best in woodland in acid or alkaline soil. Boericke reports a proving by a Dr. A Whiting of Vancouver that includes sore dry throat with dull headache cardiac symptoms. The remedy has a monograph in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. Boericke and Murphy have entries for the remedy as does Vermeulen and Johnston’s Plants.

Tulip
Tulipa gesneriana (Tulip) and Tulipa sylvestris (Wild Tulip), are species of plants in the lily family. They have become naturalised in parts of central and southern Europe and in scattered locations in North America. T. gesneriana is in Yakir’s Botanical Repertory and in Norland’s Mappa Mundi, while T. sylvestris is in the German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia and in Plants.