Bovista appears in 10 of the 13 classic books on Similia. Each was written to do a different job — here is what each adds on this remedy, with the opening of its entry.
- Allen HC — The keynotes that separate this remedy from its nearest neighbours.
“Puffball (Fungi.) Persons who suffer from tettery eruptions, dry or moist. Adapted to old maids; with palpitation. Stammering children (Stram.). Discharge from nose and all mucous membranes; very tough, stringy, tenacious (Kali bi.). Usually deep impression on finger, from using blunt instruments, scissors, knife…”
- Allen TF — The raw proving record — symptoms as the provers reported them, unedited.
“Lycoperdon Bovista, Pers. Nat. order , Fungi; Common names , Warted Puff ball, Kugelschwamm. Preparation , Triturations. Authorities. Emotional. Talkative, 3. Very open-hearted; she spoke of her own failings, contrary to her custom, 3. Averse to everything after dinner, 2. Very much exhilarated; life seems very…”
- Boericke — The quick clinical read — keynotes, modalities and the conditions it is actually prescribed in.
“Puff-Ball (BOVISTA) Has a marked effect on the skin, producing eruption like eczema, also upon the circulation, predisposing to hæmorrhages; marked languor and lassitude. Adapted to stammering children, old maids with palpitation; and "tettery" patients. Stage of numbness and tingling in multiple neuritis. Asphyxia…”
- Boger (GA) — Which general headings this remedy belongs under — the analytical scaffolding.
“CLOTHES, pressure of, Agg. DIRECTION of sensations, Outward PUFFINESS STICKY, stringy, etc.(Comp. Adhesive.) TIME, 8 P.M. to 12 Night. 6 A.M. 5 P.M. 7 P.M. 8 P.M. 9 P.M. 10 P.M.”
- Clarke — The widest entry — sources, provings, clinical uses, relationships and antidotes in one place.
“Lycoperdon bovista. Warted puff-ball. N. O. Fungi. Trituration. Coccyx, itching of / Corns / Cysts / Diabetes / Diarrhœa / Ear, eczema of / Eczema / Ganglion / Gleet / Hæmorrhages / Hæmorrhagic diathesis / Headache / Heart, affections of / Jaundice / Joints, affections of / Menstruation, disordered / Metrorrhagia /…”
- Hering — Graded symptoms, each weighted by how often provers and practice confirmed it.
“Puffball. Fungi. Hartlaub, Sen., proved in 1828 the spores of this fungus, following the example of Hahnemann, with Lycopodium . He published it in 1831 as an antipsoric ; 640 symptoms. It belongs to the most important remedies for the treatment of chronic diseases. Ægidi's case of urticaria, Knerr's translation of…”
- Lippe (KN) — Only the symptoms Lippe considered reliable enough to prescribe on.
“Great weakness in the joints. Ebullitions with much thirst. Chilliness predominating during the pain. Dull instruments produce deep impressions on the flesh, for instance, the scissors on the fingers in using them. Pale swelling of the upper lip. Moist tetter.”
- Lippe (MM) — The strict Hahnemannian reading — the symptom picture without clinical interpretation.
“Sad, depressed and desponding. Awkwardness; she lets every thing drop out of her hand. Weak memory. Headache deep in the brain, sensation as if the head were enlarged. Sensation as if bruised in the head. Dim eyes, without lustre. Objects seem to be too near the eye. Itching in the ears. Discharge of fetid us from the…”
- Lippe (Red) — Keynotes with the most-trusted ones marked as red-line symptoms.
“Common name: puff ball. Headache (deep in the brain), with a feeling as though the head were enormously large or swollen (F.). Discharge from the nose and all mucous membranes very tough, stringy and tenacious (Kali-B.) (A.). Pale swelling of the upper lip. Found it useful in epistaxis. Whether the hæmorrhage be…”
