Conium Mac

A poisonous member of the carrot family, traditionally used in homoeopathy for dizziness on turning the head and the slow weakness of later life.

Conium is poison hemlock, a tall plant of the carrot family with a purple-spotted stem, finely cut leaves and flat umbrellas of small white flowers. It grows wild across Europe and has spread to many other regions. Its poison is famous from the death of Socrates; homoeopathy uses it only in specially prepared form.

Homoeopaths traditionally associate it with the slowing down of later life: dizziness when lying down or turning the head, weak memory, heavy and trembling legs, and a stop-start flow of urine. It is also linked with breasts that become tender before a period.

• Dizziness on turning
• Weakness in later life
• Weak memory
• Stop-start urine flow
• Breast tenderness