Abies canadensis
Made from the hemlock spruce — the tall evergreen of the northern forests, and the classical remedy of the canine hunger and the flatulent dyspepsia.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a hunger that cannot be satisfied: the canine, gnawing hunger of the books, the flatulent dyspepsia with the distended belly, the rheumatic limbs of the damp forest itself — and the tall spruce of the northern woods. The gnawing-hunger spruce: that is Abies canadensis.
The substance, in plain words
The hemlock spruce is the tall evergreen of the northern forests, its resinous bark and tips carrying the genuine tannins and resins of the conifer shelf. The proving gave the spruce the hunger-and-flatulence portrait of the books' gastric chapter.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the digestion, the hunger, the distension, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant gastric discomfort.
- Dullness. Heavy mind with the dyspeptic, rheumatic frame.
The body
- Canine, gnawing hunger. The keynote: the insatiable, dog-like hunger of the books — eating and remaining hungry.
- Flatulent dyspepsia. The distended, gas-ridden belly of the same chapter.
- Rheumatic limb pains. The books add the rheumatic, aching limbs of the damp-worse frame.
- Worse eating and cold damp. Food restarts the ferment; wet weather deepens the rheumatism.
- Better for warmth and rest. Warmth and rest ease the spruce state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| eating; cold damp weather; night. | warmth; rest; open air. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Stomach and digestion, bowels (gas), joints (rheumatic), general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The northern spruce's proving gave the gnawing-hunger portrait; Abies canadensis became the classical remedy of the insatiable hunger and the flatulent dyspepsia — the tall forest evergreen serving the stomach of the gastric chapter.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
The spruce's real career is timber and turpentine — the conifer shelf's resins genuinely medicinal as counter-irritants and expectorants. The hunger it portrayed is now endocrinology's territory — a checked blood sugar answers the old gnawing; the tree's chemistry is real, its portrait's territory modern.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Iodum | Ravenous hunger | Iodum is the furnace that wastes; Abies canadensis the gnawing hunger with the flatulence. |
| Abies nigra | The spruce pair | Abies nigra is the hard-lump stomach pain after eating; Abies canadensis the canine hunger and the gas. |
| Lycopodium clavatum | Hunger and bloating | Lycopodium's is the 4–8 p.m. bloating with the hunger; Abies canadensis the canine one of the forest chapter. |
| Nux vomica | Dyspepsia, irritability | Nux is fiery and spasmodic; Abies canadensis the gnawing, flatulent one of the conifer shelf. |