Senecio Aureus

A golden-flowered plant of North American damp woods, traditionally used in homoeopathy for late or scanty periods and for kidney and bladder discomfort.

Senecio aureus, now Packera aurea, is golden ragwort or life root, a perennial of the daisy family from damp woods and swamps of eastern North America. It carries flat clusters of bright yellow, daisy-like flowers in spring. Like other ragworts it contains alkaloids that can harm the liver; homoeopathy uses it only in specially prepared form.

Eclectic doctors valued it as a tonic for the womb, and the classic texts say its action on women has been confirmed in practice. Homoeopaths traditionally turn to it for late, scanty or suppressed periods, often with backache, and for scanty, burning urine, an irritable bladder, kidney backache and renal colic.

• Late or scanty periods
• Renal colic
• Irritable bladder
• Kidney backache