Rhus glabra
Made from the smooth sumac — the American sumac's astringent bark and berries, genuinely styptic in the old dispensary, and the classical remedy of the aphthous mouth and the suppressed menses.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a mouth full of sores and a cycle that will not come: the aphthous, ulcerated mouth of the books, the suppressed menses of the same chapter, the bleeding the astringent berries stanched, and the smooth sumac of the American thickets. The astringent-sumac remedy: that is Rhus glabra.
The substance, in plain words
The smooth sumac is the American sumac of the thickets, its bark and berries a genuine astringent — the old tanning and styptic of the Indigenous peoples and the early dispensary, its tannins really contracting and stanching. The proving gave the sumac the aphthous-mouth portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the mouth, the cycle, the bleeding, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant soreness.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the chronic, recurrent states.
The body
- Aphthous, ulcerated mouth. The keynote: the aphthous, ulcerated mouth of the books' astringent chapter.
- Suppressed menses. The books' second use — the suppressed cycle of the same chapter.
- Bleeding the berries stanched. The astringent styptic of the old dispensary — the passive bleeding it was chewed for.
- Worse cold damp and night. Wet weather and night deepen the mouth and the cycle.
- Better for the astringent and rest. The astringent course and rest ease the sumac state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold damp weather; night; exertion. | the astringent course; rest; warmth. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Mouth (aphthae, ulcers), female cycle, blood (styptic chapter), general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The astringent berries' proving gave the aphthous-mouth portrait; Rhus glabra became the classical remedy of the ulcerated mouth and the suppressed cycle — the smooth sumac serving the sores its tannins dried.
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 smooth sumac is genuinely astringent — its tannins the real chemistry of the old styptic and tanning shelf, used by the Indigenous peoples and the early dispensary alike. The aphthous mouth and suppressed cycle it portrayed are now examined and treated; the berry's chemistry is honest, its territory modern.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Borax | Aphthous mouth | Borax is the nursing infant's aphthae with the motion dread; Rhus glabra the ulcerated mouth of the astringent shelf. |
| Merc sol | Mouth and offensiveness | Merc sol is sweaty and foul; Rhus glabra the astringent, ulcerated one. |
| Senecio aureus | Suppressed menses | Senecio's is the delayed-by-cold regulator; Rhus glabra's the astringent chapter of the same complaint. |
| Polygonum punctatum | The styptic pair | Polygonum is the smartweed styptic; Rhus glabra the astringent sumac of the same shelf. |