Frans Vermeulen, Linda Johnston
Saltire Books, 2011, hardcover in slip case,
4 volumes, 4968 pages, Price EUR 379,-
Reviewed by David Nortman, Israel
This majestic reference work, unique and
unprecedented in its encyclopedic scope,
spans four sturdy, hardcover volumes.
Within the bounds of just under 5000 pages, Vermeulen and Johnston have prevailed
over the seemingly insurmountable challenge of saying something noteworthy
about each of more than 2000 plant species.
Remedies with available homeopathic information are presented as a blend of natural
history, mythology, pharmacology, selected
materia medica, and clinical cases from
both classical and contemporary sources,
echoing the structure of Vermeulenʼs recent works, Monera and Fungi.
The symptoms of the materia medica are
divided into Mind, Generals, Sensations
(mainly “sensations as if”), and Locals sections, with a selection of symptoms under
each heading. Symptoms are all scrupulously referenced back to their original
source – whether a proving, anecdotal account, herbal source, or toxicological report
– providing an authoritative portal for accessing remedies that range from the common to the obscure. Out of the total 2027
plants listed, 725 that have no known clinical characteristics are nevertheless included in the hope of inspiring novel prescriptions, their descriptions containing
only taxonomic, botanical, herbal, and
chemical data.
The authorsʼ stated intentions are, first, to
correct historically transmitted mistakes
by thoroughly checking and referencing
every symptom back to its original source
and by updating nomenclature and family
assignments to reflect current scientific usage; second, to collect reliable information
about practically every remedy ever considered in homeopathic or herbal practice
throughout their history; and finally, to
connect or “exemplify the progression from
the generic to the specific” by bringing together different aspects of a remedyʼs attributes so as to highlight its specific fea-
tures against the generic background of its
group. The last point is premised on the observation that the materia medica of plant
remedies is actually a mixture of specific
symptoms that are unique to each individual plant species and generic symptoms that
are due its kinship with the family or higher
levels of the botanical hierarchy to which
they belong. This is true especially in the
case of well-established remedies (such as
Nux vomica or Ignatia within the Loganiaceae family), which historically have been
prescribed mistakenly, at times, in place of
“smaller”, yet better-fitting remedies from
their group. This has resulted in the expansion of their materia medica at the expense
of smaller remedies, perpetuating the overprescription of major remedies and distending their materia medica with generic
symptoms.
The authors thus insist that the attributes
of individual plant remedies be considered
as partially reflective of the greater whole
(most usefully the family) to which they belong, rather than as solitary entities. Concretely, they advocate that the user not rest
content with remedies that may come up in
a repertory search, but branch out beyond
them toward other remedies within their
group, thereby arriving at obscure (specific)
remedies that might otherwise be overlooked in favour of their more prominent
(generic) siblings.
The remedies in this work are grouped into
139 alphabetical chapters: 116 families, 17
orders, four phyla (a high-level taxonomic
rank just below the kingdom), and two behavioural groupings (carnivorous plants
and parasitic plants). Each group is introduced with great individual attention, beginning with a discussion of its taxonomical peculiarities, followed by its botanical
traits, representative chemical constituents, natural history and mythology, and finally a synthesis and summary of clinical
themes and affinities. These highly original
sections offer perhaps the workʼs most exhilarating reading, vividly bringing alive
from the printed page the character of each
group so as to engrave it onto the readerʼs
imagination.
Plants is published by Saltire Books. The
classic, minimalist style of Vermeulenʼs
previous works here gives way to a tastefully executed contemporary design of
comparably high production-quality and
readability, in a larger overall format. Vermeulenʼs fact-rich, always engaging prose,
which permeates the materia medica sec-
tions that compose the bulk of this work, is
complemented (most notably in the family
synopses) by Johnstonʼs more poetic flair.
Together they produce a first-rate narrative
of great clarity, attaining throughout a fine
stylistic balance between the personal and
the encyclopedic.
The natural classification of the plant kingdom is not a straightforward affair due to
the existence of rival scientific taxonomical
systems, each with its own drawbacks and
advantages. In their capacity as homeopathic taxonomists, the authors were thus
required to commit themselves to a consistent taxonomic method. Briefly, the leading
two approaches – represented by the Cronquist and Dahlgren systems on the one side
and by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
system on the other – diverge on whether
classification should be based on the sum
of observable plant characteristics (the
phenotype) or on modern genetic analysis
(the genotype). In this work the APG system, based on the latter (genetic) approach,
has been adopted throughout. This has resulted in the reassignment of some remedies and even whole families in relation
to the traditional classification naively
adopted in the homeopathic literature. Always mindful of this issue, the authors discuss these reassignments in the relevant
places within the text, providing both botanical and homeopathic justification on a
case-by-case basis.
BOOK REVIEWS
Plants: Homeopathic
and Medicinal Uses
from a Botanical
Family Perspective
The dilemma that arises from the multiplicity of classification systems raises the intriguing question whether it is the genotype
or the phenotype that plays the decisive
role in determining a plantʼs subtler homeopathic properties. The authorsʼ rationale behind their adoption of the more recent APG system runs as follows: “The
beauty and advantage of APG is that genetic
underpinning of plant systematics results
in pharmaceutical alignment of plant species according to their chemical constituents … It must not be forgotten that nearly
all traditional provings of plant remedies
were carried out with tinctures, very low
potencies or the crude substances, in order
to elicit physiological actions and reactions
rather than dynamic ones … The biological
effects produced in such manner obviously
depend upon the chemical constituents of
the plants tested.”
At the other side of the debate, the traditional taxonomic systems arguably better
complement the homeopathic clinical practice of attending to observable signs and
Book Reviews – Homœopathic Links Autumn 2012, Vol. 25: 192 – 196 © Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd.
195
BOOK REVIEWS
symptoms over molecular-level phenomena such as pathological or laboratory data.
Indeed, the authors themselves do not presuppose the genetic reductionism on which
the APG system is largely based, given that
the rich, composite remedy pictures they
present consistently bring out the “dynamic” or “behavioural” traits of plants – traits
which are only partially reducible to their
chemical constituents – and not only their
pharmacological ones. Regardless, the authorsʼ consistency and attention to detail
in this regard vindicate their choice, irrespective of the potential merits of the alternative approach.
A second conceptual commitment the authors have made is to organise the work into alphabetically ordered families rather
than following the complete taxonomic hierarchy of the plant kingdom (as indeed
was done in Monera and Fungi for their respective kingdoms). The present arrangement into families is mainly conducive toward “bottom-up” research from individual
remedies to group characteristics and finally to related remedies within the group.
Conceivably, however, the work could have
been organised according to the full botanical hierarchy rather than alphabetically by
family, potentially bringing out currently
unnoticed patterns within the botanical hierarchy at levels higher than the family.
The above reflections (due in part to the
work of Israeli homeopath and botanist Michal Yakir on homeopathic plant systematics) are just some of the considerations
raised by the richness and complexity of
the source material comprising this work,
which the authors have expertly compiled
and elaborated on. The final result is an encyclopedic magnum opus that broadens
oneʼs horizon beyond the well-known rem-
KYOTO (JP)
6th Congress of the LMHI
edies that dominate the repertories and existing materiae medicae (which this work
aims to supplement rather than supplant),
functioning as an advanced reference for
the skilled homeopath who wishes to attain
optimal prescribing precision. In addition,
this seminal work will undoubtedly serve
as a standard research tool in the emerging
field of homeopathic plant systematics.
One reservation concerning this work has
to do with the design of the remedy index,
which lacks direct page references. Instead,
the reader is referred, via a numerical reference, to a second index that identifies the
family, after which one is required to locate
the family alphabetically within the appropriate volume, and finally the specific remedy alphabetically within the family. This
multistep procedure could be viewed in a
positive light, as compelling the reader to
approach the material as a comparative
materia medica by becoming acquainted
with the family and sibling relations that
one inevitably encounters during oneʼs
search; at any rate, it appears to be the authorsʼ express intention to discourage quick
remedy lookup in favour of in-depth study
of remedy relations and family characteristics. But it could be argued that people cannot be compelled against their will, and for
those who do not shy away from deeper
study, the effort of remedy lookup (especially within the larger families such as Asteraceae or Ranunculaceae) could better be
spent on further exploration according to
oneʼs immediate or long-term needs.
Whatever the case may be, this concern has
been substantially remedied through an index of remedies and families available for
download through www.plantfamilies.net.6
6
http://www.plantfamilies.net/
PLANTS_page_index.pdf
14 – 17 September 2012
Contact: LMHI2012 Secretariat: C/o ISS, INC. Nihon Seimei Ichibancho Bldg.
4F23-3, Ichibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0082, Japan,
Fax: + 81 3 3230 3725, E-mail: [email protected]
LEUVEN (BE)
Anne Vervarcke
15 September 2012
In conclusion, Vermeulen and Johnstonʼs
Plants continues Vermeulenʼs grand vision
of creating indispensible practical reference
tools that simultaneously break new
ground in the materia medica genre itself:
the Synoptic series with its unrivaled blend
of classic and modern keynotes and quotations; the Concordant with its masterly condensation of the best classic sources; Prisma with its ingenious reflections on the
substance behind the remedy; and Monera
and Fungi with their visionary compilation
of hitherto disordered data into a systematic whole. Although the immense scope of
Plants and its emphasis on raw data over
summary bites may be overwhelming at
first, this unique and elaborate reference
work will gradually divulge its secrets to
the inquisitive homeopathic clinician or researcher, besides promising endless delights to botanists, herbalists, and lay people alike. All considered, this state-of-theart encyclopedia deserves, at the very least,
to be in the possession of every serious homeopathic professional.
LONDON (UK)
22 – 23 September 2012
Roger Morrison & Nancy Herrick: “The Carbons in Perspective”
Contact: Pinnacle Seminars, E-mail: [email protected],
Internet: www.pinnacleseminars.co.uk
NIENDORF/OSTSEE (DE)
23 – 29 September 2012
Materia Medica Course with André Saine
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: Gesellschaft hom. Ärzte, c/o Dr. J. Rohwer,
Phone: + 49/(0)4 51/4 79 19 91, E-mail: [email protected]
NIENDORF/OSTSEE (DE)
20 – 22 September 2012
Materia Medica Pura Project with André Saine
CHELMSFORD (UK)
27 – 28 September 2012
Neurology with Emphasis on Gait, Body Language
Contact: Gesellschaft hom. Ärzte, c/o Dr. J. Rohwer,
Phone: + 49/(0)4 51/4 79 19 91, E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: http://www.homoeopathy-course.com/postgraduate.html
HAMBURG (DE)
21 – 23 September 2012
Dinesh Chauhan: Child Centric, Integrative Scientific Case Witnessing
Process to Explore Whole Altered Pattern Till Source in Children
DRIEBERGEN (NL)
Anne Vervarcke
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected], [email protected]
196
In a similar vein, it would have been helpful
to have primary access to the family characteristics via a table that summarised (in a
single location) the main homeopathic features of each group, thereby enabling comparative study of family attributes as well as
“top-down” research from group characteristics to individual remedies: for example, a
case with a clear theme or sensation could
be matched up with a family, potentially
leading to the discovery of a suitable remedy within. Ultimately, it is precisely because
this work contains such a treasure trove of
original material that it deserves to “take
on a life of its own” by supporting the readerʼs interacting with it in many different
ways, even when these depart from the authorsʼ original intent.
Book Reviews – Homœopathic Links Autumn 2012, Vol. 25: 192 – 196 © Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd.
27 – 29 September 2012