Ustilago maidis
Made from corn smut — the black fungus of maize ears that was a genuine Eclectic haemostatic, and the classical remedy of the bleeding, congested uterus.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a uterus that bleeds and threatens growths: flooding that clots dark as it flows, a sense of congestion and enlargement of the womb, headaches with the bleeding, and the old books' association with fibroid states. The darkly-clotted flooding: that is Ustilago.
The substance, in plain words
Corn smut is the black, swollen fungus of maize ears — a genuine crop pest that the Eclectic school adopted as a uterine haemostatic, official in their materia medica for flooding and fibroid bleeding. Its ustilagin chemistry is genuinely bioactive; the remedy is its portrait, from a fungus on a cob.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety with the bleeding. Fear, restlessness, worse at the onset of the flow.
- Irritability. Cross before and during the flooding.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the chronic, recurrent haemorrhages.
The body
- Dark-clotted flooding. The keynote: uterine haemorrhage of dark, blackish clots — the books' great fibroid-bleeding remedy.
- Sense of uterine enlargement. Congestion and a sensation of the womb being swollen, heavy, full.
- Headaches with the flow. Headaches that arrive with the bleeding and fade as it ends.
- Worse motion and least exertion. Any movement restarts the flow; the books prescribe perfect stillness.
- Better lying and the flow's end. Rest, and the bleeding's own cessation, bring relief.
- Old standing congestion. The chronic pelvic congestion of the books, with the dark menstrual character.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| motion; exertion; the days of the flow; climbing | lying down; perfect rest; the flow's cessation. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Uterus (flooding, fibroid states), pelvis and congestion, head, blood.
Where the classical picture comes from
The Eclectic haemostatic — a crop fungus on the maize ear, adopted into medicine — gave the proving its frame; the remedy became the classical portrait of the dark-clotted flooding and the congested, enlarged-feeling womb.
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.
Corn smut was a genuine Eclectic drug: the school used it as a uterine haemostatic for decades, and its ustilagin compounds are real secondary metabolites with documented bioactivity. The fibroids and flooding it portrayed are today managed with tranexamic acid, hormonal therapy, embolisation and surgery — effective, modern, decisive.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Sabina officinalis | Bright flooding, miscarriage | Sabina bleeds bright red with clots and hates music; Ustilago bleeds dark and congested. |
| Secale cornutum | Dark bleeding, coldness | Secale is cold, dry and uncovered; Ustilago congested, heavy and lying-better. |
| Trillium pendulum | Bright bleeding with sinking | Trillium's flooding sinks the patient instantly; Ustilago's congests the womb. |
| Crocus sativus | Dark stringy bleeding | Crocus bleeds dark strings with mood swings; Ustilago dark clots with congestion. |