Sticta pulmonaria
Made from lungwort lichen — the tree-growing lichen of old cough remedies, and the classical remedy of the dry, stuffed, influenza head.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of an influenza that owns the head and the cough: a stuffed, heavy, frontal pressure across the nose-root and forehead, a dry, constant, racking cough with no expectoration, worse lying at night, the whole state of the winter 'flu the books knew by heart. The stuffed-head, dry-cough influenza remedy: that is Sticta.
The substance, in plain words
Lungwort lichen is the leafy lichen of old forest remedies — named for the lung-shaped blotches on its leaves and used for the chest across European folk medicine. Its usnic acid and lichen chemistry are genuinely antimicrobial; the proving gave the remedy its influenza portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Dullness and heaviness. Foggy, heavy-headed with the frontal pressure; low spirits in the 'flu.
- Irritability. Cross, worse at night with the cough.
- Anxiety. Worry as the cough racks on.
The body
- Stuffed frontal head. The keynote: pressure and stuffiness across the nose-root and forehead — the books' influenza head.
- Dry constant cough. A racking, dry, unproductive cough that racks the whole body.
- Worse lying at night. The cough and the stuffiness own the recumbent night.
- No expectoration. The books emphasise the dryness — nothing comes up, the cough just racks.
- Influenza and colds of winter. The winter 'flu state the remedy served.
- Better for open air Cool open air and sitting up ease the coughing.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| lying down; night; warmth of the bed; motion | open air; sitting up; cool room. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Head (frontal, stuffed), respiratory tract (dry cough), mucous membranes.
Where the classical picture comes from
The lungwort's folk career — the lichen's blotched leaf pointing to the chest — gave the proving its frame; Sticta became the classical remedy of the stuffed-headed, dry-coughing influenza of the winter books.
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.
Usnic acid — the lungwort's signature chemistry — is genuinely antimicrobial, studied as a natural antibiotic lead, and the lichen family contributes real compounds to pharmacognosy research. The influenzas it accompanied are now virology's seasonal battle — antivirals for the worst, vaccines for the prevention, and the cough managed symptomatically. The lichen's chemistry is real; the battles are modern.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Justicia adhatoda | Chest cough, tight-to-loose | Justicia sneezes and turns loose; Sticta stays dry and stuffed. |
| Rumex crispus | Dry cough, worse air | Rumex' tickle is in the throat-pit; Sticta's is the stuffed head. |
| Bryonia alba | Dry cough, stillness | Bryonia is dry and dares not move; Sticta is the frontal-stuffed 'flu. |
| Nux vomica | Winter catarrh, irritability | Nux is the irritable winter snuffler; Sticta the stuffed, dry-coughing one. |