Introduction
This assignment discusses Hepatodoron and its relationship to healthy liver functioning. The assignment opens with botanical descriptions of Fragaria Vesca (Wild Strawberry), one of the plant substances in Hepatodoron. It then offers a number of artistic observations relating to different aspects of the Fragaria Vesca. The assignment then moves to discuss the working principles of the Odoron preparations, the specific qualities of Hepatodoron and its relationship to liver function.
The beauty of balance woven in three fold leaves
Mothers releasing their daughters to freedom
Choosing their path, where to take root
Five petals of white beauty opening to the cosmos
Aromatic fruit whose sweetness lifts the spirit and warms our soul
(T. Russell, April 2012)
Fragaria Vesca
Wild Strawberry Plant
Scientific name ~ Fragaria vesca
Family ~ Rosaceae
Genus ~ Fragaria
Species ~ vesca
Planting time ~ Spring
Common Names ~ Alpine Strawberry, Woodland Strawberry
Bloom time ~ Early spring through autumn
Habitat ~ Meadows, Woodland areas, gardens
Fragaria vesca belongs to the Rosaceae family whose plants show a wonderful harmony of form. They are rich in tannins and is the greatest fruit producing family in the temperate regions of the world. This species of strawberry plant is native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and goes by many different names. The varying names for Fragaria vesca include: the woodland strawberry, wood strawberry, wild strawberry, European strawberry, fraises des bois, and alpine strawberry
Plant Description, Growing Conditions and Environment
Fragaria vesca is an easy to grow perennial that makes an excellent garden plant that I grow as a ground cover in my garden, in hanging baskets and light coloured pots. Because the plant produces fruit over a long period, just a few berries ripen on each plant per day. They are a beautiful woodland plant that spreads by runners called stolons. Like regular strawberry plants, they have green, trifoliate leaves and white, five-petaled flowers with a yellow center, seeds are small and brown. There is also a variety with sweet yellow fruits.
Wild strawberries grow in sunny to partial shade positions, however according to Wellik, (2009) for optimal production they require six hours of sun per day. In hot climates this plant is best planted in a location that receives protection from the afternoon sun. Wild strawberries are not tolerant of salty soil, they prefer a moist, fertile, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic. Soil that contains a lot of clay or drains poorly can be amend with organic compost, (Melco , n.d.). Alpine strawberries grow in compacted mounds, they have a moderate growth rate and spread out about 18 ~ 20 cm from their mound. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by bees.
Influences That Impact Growth
Straw is the traditional mulch and works to help the soil retain its moisture as well as keeping the plant’s fruit clean. It also helps to keep weeds down, which is important, as strawberries do not deal well with root competition, (Melco, n.d.). Plants benefit from division every two to four years. Keep the strawberries well watered during warm weather and the fruit bearing season. To feed plants, top-dress the soil with compost at the beginning of the season before mulching. According to Melco, (n.d.) too much nitrogen will cause excess leaf growth and poor fruit production. In cold climates during winter mulch plants with straw or loose leaves to keep the ground temperature more even to prevent frosting.
Some Growing Issues
While alpine strawberries are less prone to disease than other species, slugs, snails and aphids can be a problem. Companion plants such as mint, alliums and marigolds seem to help, (Melco, n.d.). Root rot can become a devastating problem in environments that are moist and cool for long periods of time because of the time it can take for the soil to dry out
Medicinal Uses
The elements of earth, water, air and fire act together in this family for the greatest possible harmony. In this family the etheric or life realm is not over powered by the astral forces so are not pulled too far into the cosmos. These forces stimulate the plant to produce nectar and sugar in abundance that, when eaten, stimulate and revitalize our etheric forces, (Keats, n.d.). For human beings sugar is vital for developing and integrating our individuality, our ego; something plants do not have. The leaves and the fruit are astringent, diuretic, laxative and tonic. The leaves are mainly used, and in the Odoron substances are coupled with vitis vinifera (grape vine leaves) in the Hepatodoron preparation. Also the fruits of the wild strawberry are an excellent food to take when feverish and are also effective in treating rheumatic gout (Plants for the Future, n.d.). A tea made from the leaves is a blood tonic and the leaves are harvested in the summer and dried for later use. The fruits contain salicylic acid and are beneficial in the treatment of liver and kidney complaints, as well as in the treatment of rheumatism and gout. The roots are astringent and diuretic and a decoction is used internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and chronic dysentery, (Plants for a future, n.d.).
Fragaria Vesca ~ Wild Strawberry
Detailed Botanical Observation and Descriptions
First Impression
My first impression of the whole plant in the hanging basket was how beautifully balanced and alive it looked. I felt as if I was encountering a plant that was in harmony with its self despite showing a tendency to one sidedness through its thick green foliage. I had an impression of a gently flowing waterfall; delicateness coupled with a sense of ‘life’ as the ‘daughter’ plants flowed down from the mother plant on their reddish stolons to find their own place in the earth. I was aware of feeling ‘uplifted’ when looking at the two plants hanging from my veranda. The tiny star like flowers opened to the sun revealing their bright yellow centre and there were a few tiny red strawberries peeking from between the leaves as if shy to strangers. I suddenly realised why the wild strawberry is a woodland plant and could clearly visualize it in this natural habitat.
Roots
The wild strawberry is a creeping herbaceous perennial plant that spreads over the ground by reddish coloured runners called stolons. A stolon is a specialized type of horizontal above-ground shoot; a colonizing organ that arises from an axillary bud near the base of the plant. The wild strawberry propagates itself efficiently with these long, delicate surface runners, which can grow up to a couple of metres in a year. Adventitious roots grow mainly from the crown and extend some centimeters into the soil forming numerous lateral roots which are the primary means of taking in water and nutrients, (Handley, 1998).
The main stem of the plant is a greatly shortened stem called a ‘crown’. When planted the crown rests on the earth, the roots develop beneath the crown and the ‘mother’ plant above. Buds formed in the crown produce leaves, flowers, stolens, plantlets and adventitious roots.
Stolons (runners) and plantlets are essentially shoots that develop from axillary buds that form at the base of each leaf. In this way the ‘mother’ plant forms plantlets along the stolons known as ‘daughter’ plants. Each ‘daughter’ plant develops adventitious roots which forms a new, independent root system for the plant to anchor into the earth. The initial stolon growth develops from a first inter-node which extends from the mother plant.
Leaves
The wild strawberry plant has trifoliolate (three leaflets) leaves that attach to a slightly hairy petiole that appears to arise directly from the crown. The leaves are rich in iron and silica.
In botanical terms these are a palmately compound leaf structure as the leaflets all grow from the tip of the leafstalk. Leaflets are round to oblong in shape with a central midrib from which flows a network of fine veins.
Each leaf has toothed (serrated) margins and both sides are smoothly and sparsely haired, (The Robinson Library, 2009). The leaves are arranges in a spiral pattern so that every sixth leaf is above the first.
Flowers
The strawberry inflorescence is a modified stem terminated by a primary blossom. Branches arise at nodes from buds in the axis of bracts along the stem. On the wild strawberry plants in my garden, the corolla is made up of five, fairly broad white symmetrical petals that have a star shape appearance. The caylx cupping the base of the corolla consists of ten tiny sepals.
Within the corolla lies 25 – 30 bright yellow stamens that seem to be to be arranged in a spiral pattern; these contain pollen and are the male reproductive structures. Each stamen is made up of sacs containing pollen (anthers) on a filament or stalk. The stamens appear to encircle a bright yellow structure consisting of numerous pistils also arranged in a spiral manner; this is the female part of the flower. Within each pistil is a carpel containing a single ovary, a structure called an achene, which is the true fruit of the strawberry, (Handley, 1998). Achenes develop into the fruit that become the small, beautiful bright red, strawberries that release an intense sweetness when eaten.
Artistic Impression
Fragaria Vesca
In observing the wild strawberry plants in hanging baskets on my veranda I see a gentle flowing form and I imagine strong etheric formative forces streaming out from the abundant green foliage. I imagine warm astral forces surrounding the small red strawberry fruit as they peek out from behind their leafy shelter. I have a sense of the cosmos in the flower and it resembles a star in the night sky for me. I imagine cosmic light streaming out for I feel a beautiful harmony within this plant; it feels almost spiritual to me. I am aware of feeling uplifted, a sense of kindness and lightness within my chest area when observing these plants.
In studying the wild strawberry plants in my garden, the roots do not seem to penetrate deeply into the earth, rather spreads via stolons and ‘daughter’ plants that embrace the earth like soft a green veil. In this plant I have a strong impression of community; the way it spreads out and greets other plants growing nearby. The one sidedness in the wild strawberry plant lies in its abundant green foliage that feels full of strong etheric forces. The rhythmic centre of the plant feels as if it holds the balance between the roots (NS system) and flowers/fruit (metabolic system) with gentleness and love. The delicate spiral form of the leaves seem to embrace and support their stolen all the way to the earth and along the stem to the flower and fruit.
The five beautiful white petals open from their calyx revealing their bright yellow centre to the cosmos. Just as the roots look earthward, these flowers turn towards the sun soaking up its light and warmth in order to come to fruition in producing its small and intensely sweet strawberry fruit. For some reason the wild strawberry carries a strong spiritual sense for me. It seems to have bridge making capabilities between the sun and the earth, the cosmic, the soul and the physical earth.
Principles of Odoron Preparations
Health is a state of being experienced when all aspects of our being function in a dynamic harmonious balance. Bodily systems continue to perform their catabolic (nerve-sense) and anabolic (metabolic-limb) processes maintained within a dynamic state of equilibrium monitored through the rhythmic system. Illness occurs when an imbalance takes place within our body and equilibrium is lost between the upper and lower polarities. If left uncorrected, physiological and spiritual imbalance within any organ opens the way for disease processes to take hold. When faced with an organic disease, contemporary medicine often implements therapeutic methods designed to relieve pain or combat bacteria, viruses and allergens or to shrink cancer cells and so forth, (Wolff, 1998). These methods are necessary and often produce a positive outcome for a while, especially during an acute phase of illness when the body is under severe stress. However in many ways contemporary medicine has lost the view of the total person, (Wolff, 1998). Medical treatments mainly focus on managing the isolated physical illness in dissociation with the wider soul and spiritual functions of the person, organ or system they are seeking to heal. Unfortunately, long term these methods do not always promote healing. For example, cancer cells can be pushed into remission, only to resurface of reappear in a different organ as metastases, (Wolff, 1998).
Rudolf Steiner (Husemann & Wolff, vol 2, 1987) tells us that ‘Healing is the restitution of the divine archetype of man’ (p.13) and through spiritual science, Steiner discovered organic pathways that mirror processes within plants and human kind alike (as well as animals’). From these insights he developed the Odorons.
Rather than seeking to ‘combat’ organic disease, Steiner developed these therapeutic remedies from his knowledge and understanding of the physiological and spiritual nature of the organs and their relationship with human beings. From this perspective every organ can be supported by a specific Odoron remedy that mirrors the formative forces that formed it and maintains the organ’s healthy function throughout life, (Husemann & Wolff, vol 2, 1987). In this way the Odorons work towards establishing an archetypal image of healthy organic function, (Husemann & Wolff, vol 2, 1987). The magic is that these remedies have a non-specific effect in a specific organ and stimulate healthy function, no matter what the deviation is, (Wolff, 1996). This principle points out the pathway to health but does not force the organism it to take it; there is freedom of choice, (Wolff, 1998). In this way the Odorons offer an organ-specific therapy that harnesses the nature of the organ, its relationship to humans and Steiner’s understanding of the principles of healing, (Wolff, 1998). Steiner’s principle of offering the organism a picture of healthy function gave pharmacology and medicine a new treatment method, (Wolff, 1998). From this standpoint I wish to consider Hepatodoron which is the Odoron specific for treatment for the liver
Quality/Potential Relevance of Specific Odoron
The liver is the central organ of metabolic anabolism and the largest organ in the body. It lies below the diaphragm in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity and extends approximately from the right 5th rib to the lower border of the rib cage. Water is the carrier of the formative (etheric) forces and the liver is one of the most watery organs in the body. It is an organ of assimilation as it converts substances for use within the body in an environment of intense warmth. It produces bile which is vital for digestion, metabolises fats, carbohydrates and proteins and stores them as energy reserves, (Marieb, 2009). It is also the organ of our will and as such has an important relationship with sugar. Sugar allows the ego, the ‘I’ organisation, to penetrate deep within our body via warmth and the blood. Imbalances in liver function can manifest in our ‘will function’ meaning that a person is unable to transform ideas and desires into action in the world, instead they remain in the thinking realm, (Maret, n.d.)
One of the important liver activities lies in carbohydrate metabolism which begins with digestion in the small intestine. As the blood enters the liver from the intestine via the portal vein, the liver ‘monitors’ the sugar concentration of the blood. If the liver recognises that blood sugar is ‘too sweet’, it converts glucose into glycogen by the process of glycogenesis (anabolism), (Buhler, 1979). Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles until needed at some later time when glucose levels are low, then hormones are secreted to stimulate the conversion of glycogen to glucose, a process called glycogenolysis (catabolism). As healthy functioning of the sense-nerve system is completely dependent upon stable blood glucose levels, our body must have a way of stablising blood glucose. This is one of the major gifts the liver gives to human kind, especially it’s polar opposite the nerve-sense system. These complex processes can also be found in the plant kingdom and Jachens (2008) asserts that plants and man are inwardly related by being subjected to the same laws of creation (p.50).
If this is so, then what are the similarities between the metabolism of sugar in the liver and sugars in plants that make the odoron’s so special to human kind? Green plants are the only plants that produce oxygen and make food, through the process called photosynthesis which means ”putting together with light.” This takes place in chloroplasts that are in the cells of the leaf. These contain a pigment called chlorophyll that plants require to produce food. Chlorophyll absorbs the sunlight, and from sunlight green plants combine carbon dioxide and water to make sugar and oxygen. Plants then use the sugar products of photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates which are converted into useful energy that plants use to grow and reproduce. As many of these plants are a food source for animals, we can recognise that plant carbohydrates processes are aligned with carbohydrate processes in animals and humans alike, (Bettelheim, Brown & March, 2004).
Hepatodoron
The relevance of the substance Hepatodoron to the liver is that it mirrors healthy archetypal metabolic processes, especially of carbohydrate and protein anabolism, that are permeated with intense warmth processes, (Pelikan, 1997). Hepatodoron is a liver-specific medication that is made from dried leaves of the Vitus vinifera (grape vine) and Fragaria vesca (wild strawberry). The wild strawberry is a woodland plant that will grow in shady and sunny habitats alike; its sugar production results in fleshy receptacles containing numerous achenes, (Bott, 1978). In contrast the grape vine requires full sunlight for the synthesis of its sugars, the accumulation of which is seen in its fruit, the bunch of grapes, (Bott, 1978).
Hepatodoron is made from the leaves of these two plants, not the fruit. In the leaves the sugar process of ‘becoming’ is still fully active where as the fruit is the end product of its active process, (Bott, 1978). As a result, the wild strawberry and the grape vine leaves have an inner affinity with the formative forces of the liver. Although these plants share the commonality of active sugar production, in other ways they have polarically opposite characteristics. This allows the remedy to act as a balancer between different predispositions of the liver. According to Wolff, (1996) the wild strawberry leaves acts as a metabolic cleanser and stimulates human protein formation while the grape vine leaves stimulate carbohydrate metabolism, especially glycogen production. Thus the qualities in Hepatodoron seek to show the liver the healthy functions it may have lost, especially with regard to carbohydrate and protein anabolism. This is important because healthy metabolism of these substances facilitates the ability of the ego, the “I” organisation, to penetrate deep within the body. This harnesses our will and ability to transform dreams and ideas into actions within the world.
Hepatodoron is a treatment that is appropriate to support healthy liver function at any time. It is not just recommended for treating a specific liver disorder or disease, rather it is a basic medication for showing the liver it’s pathway to health again, (Wolff, 1998).
Concluding Response
From a scientific viewpoint I found it hard to understand certain aspects of the Odorons, yet on a higher universal level the principles behind these medications make sense. There is no doubt in my mind that Steiner was able to perceive the spiritual forces within the organs of our body and plants alike. He perceived that spiritual forces that permeate the form, life and consciousness of our liver, are also mirrored within the plant substances contained in Hepatodoron. In fact the whole medicinal Odoron family offer a new healing principle; one based of presenting an archetypal image of healthy organic functioning and allowing the organ freedom to choose health ~ or not.
Through these substances Steiner offered the principle to restore healthy organic function rather than another remedy to ‘fight disease’. For me this principle mirrors human evolution. Through questions that have arisen from this assignment, I realize that if ‘healing is the restitution of the divine archetype of man’, we all have the freedom to ‘wake up’ and seek the higher archetypal spiritual impulses that dwell within us ~ or not.
Patricia Russell
April 2012
References
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Anthroposophical Nursing 