The following homeopathic proving has been downloaded from the Luminos Homeopathic Courses Ltd. Web site http://www.homeopathycourses.com. Please see the web site Terms and Conditions. For personal use only. Photo by C.A. Shepard Homeopathic Proving of Anthopleura xanthogrammmica Name of proving substance: Anthopleura xanthogrammica, giant green (sea) anemone Principal Investigator/Master Prover: Cynthia A. Shepard, CCH, RSHom(NA) Canada Proving Method: Classical, without blanks, with blinding. Original Manufacturer: Hahnemann Laboratories, USA. www.hahnemannlabs.com Source Material Information: Anthopleura xanthogrammica was identified in the field by an experienced naturalist/biologist; in its range the species is unmistakable. The anemone used was living in a tide pool located on the exposed rocky shoreline of the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Although Anthopleura-xan., can be found to be living in both groups or in a solitary existence, the one used for this proving was of the later circumstance. Collection was done during the lowest tide of the early February 2005 cycle. Parts collected for trituration included a small section of the animal’s column (body) and several tentacles. The material was triturated to the 3rd centesimal dry potency immediately after collection, and then shipped to Hahnemann Laboratories for full potentization. Contact name: Cynthia A. Shepard, CCH, RSHom(NA) 533 Foul Bay Road, Victoria, B.C. V8S 4G9 Canada (250) 519-0695 [email protected] Year of the Proving: 2005 Number of Proving Participants: 15 – 7 teams, each consisting of 1 prover paired with 1 supervisor, and 1 master prover. All 7 provers were female. One supervisor was male. Full Proving Data available for download from: www.homeopathycourses.com Biology and Natural History Notes: Remedy Source: Anthopleura xanthogrammica – giant green (sea) anemone Taxonomy and Name: Other common names for this anemone are green anemone, rough anemone, surf anemone and solitary anemone. The scientific name, Anthopleura xanthogrammica means “yellow lined flower”. This species belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, which includes sea animals such as jellyfish, anemones and corals. What distinguishes this phylum is the presence of specialized stinging cells, cnidoblasts, (Cnidaria means nettles) which shoot out harpoon-like stinging hairs called nematocysts. Nematocysts stun prey by injection of toxins and thereby aid in the ease of capture. The phylum Cnidaria is divided into three classes Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa and Anthozoa. Anthopleura xanthogrammica is in the class Anthozoa. Cyndarians were previously classified as Coelenterata (Gr. for hollow intestine); members of this group of invertebrates have but a single body cavity which serves to provide digestive, excretory and respiratory functions. This anemone, along with most other common temperate shore anemone species, is a member of the Actiniidae family Habitat and Range: There are over 1,000 species of anemone that inhabit the world’s oceans and the bulk of these are found in the tropical reef habitat. Anthopleura xanthogrammica makes its home in the ocean’s intertidal areas and can tolerate much colder waters. It can be found in the low intertidal to sub- intertidal zone, inhabiting tide pools, rock crevices and surge channels, along the exposed rocky shoreline of the Pacific coast ranging from Alaska to Panama. They also are found to a sub tidal depth of 100 feet. Giant green anemones are often found inhabiting pools within or below mussel beds (Mytilus californicus and Mytilus trossulus). This sea anemone is usually solitary, and will exhibit aggressive territorial defense against rival anemones. However, where conditions permit, groupings of many individuals living in close proximity to each other do also occur. Anemones are largely sessile and tend to stay in one spot unless the location becomes unsuitable for some reason. They can move by slowly creeping along on their suction cup foot, or as in the case of an attack, can uproot themselves and swim away to a new location. ‘Swimming’ is achieved by muscular contractions that create a flexing motion which serves to propel the animal through water. Description: The giant green anemone is one of the most stunning tide pool animals of the Pacific coast. Color of the animal varies depending upon its exposure to sunlight. Individuals living in high shade may be almost grey in color whereas those living in areas exposed to bright sunlight are a striking brilliant fluorescent green. Coloring of individuals ranges from jade green, olive green to bluish green. The oral disk, uniform in color and lacking radiating lines, is broad and flat, and surrounded by haphazardly arranged, short and thick tentacles of similar color. At the center of the oral disk there is a prominent single orifice which serves the animal for both intake of food and elimination of waste. The exterior of the anemone’s column is a dark green to brownish color and is velvet-looking in texture. Compound irregular tubercles, called verrucae, arranged randomly on the columns surface produce the velvet-like effect. The verrucae have adhesive properties and the anemone’s column is often covered with bits of gravel and shells which protect against dehydration. Size can be up to 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter across the crown, and up to 30 cm in length. Subjective descriptions of these sea creatures liken them to flowers, particularly because of the beautifully colored and tentacle-fringed oral disk. Anthozoa, the taxonomic class which includes sea anemones and corals, is a name derived from the Greek meaning ‘flower animals.’ The animal’s common name, anemone, is also the Latin name for a genus of flowering plants in the Ranunculaceae family. The flower-like appearance of giant green anemones is only suggested when the animal’s oral disk is open and exposed. When the animal contracts, thereby withdrawing its oral disk and tentacles to assume a defensive posture, or when it is prostrated due to exposure to air, all descriptions of beauty cease, and instead most observers describe them as looking ugly or even repulsive. Coloration: This sea anemone produces greenish fluorescent pigments that give it its striking color and that afford protection to the single-celled green algae species (the algae themselves are a light brownish color) which live within their gastrodermal tissues. Giant green sea anemones might therefore be more truly termed ‘plant-animals.’ There is a true symbiotic relationship that exists between the anemone and the algae (usually zoochlorellae by itself or with zooxanthellae). The algae, tiny dinoflagellates, gain protection, carbon dioxide and reliable exposure to sunlight from the anemone, and in return the anemone receives oxygen, a byproduct of the algae’s photosynthesis, and trace amounts of nourishment in the form of glycerol, glucose and alanine. Studies have shown that giant green anemones living in low light conditions, in which their algae partners languish, will lose weight faster under poor food conditions than algae living in good light situations. Feeding and Prey Items: Heartily carnivorous yet non-motile, this animal is a patient feeder. When comfortably submerged in its salt water environment the giant green anemone opens up its oral disk and tentacles and simply waits for its meal opportunities to arise. The anemone has access only to prey that swim, crawl, fall or otherwise come in contact with its tentacles. Prey for the giant green anemone usually consists of detached mussels, crabs, sea urchins and small fishes but this species will also consume small crustaceans and a variety of other organisms that contact its tentacles. Common sea stars, Pisaster ochraceus, are a major predator of mussels and in the course of their own feeding they often dislodge mussels which become a more available prey for any nearby waiting anemones. It is speculated that anemones actually rely on the predation activities of sea stars to loosen and dislodge mussels for their own consumption. Not to be considered solely an opportunistic feeder, this anemone can of course also capture its own prey. Once within range, mechanoreceptors alert the anemone to the vibration of its prey so that upon tactile stimulation stinging nematocysts are discharged from the tentacles. Hundreds to thousands of nematocysts bombard the prey, injecting a paralyzing toxin. The stunned prey is then captured as the anemone’s tentacles bend and close, ultimately transferring it to the gastrovascular cavity via the mouth at the center of the anemone’s oral disk. Prey is swallowed whole – fins, spines, shells and all. The gastrovascular cavity functions both in digestion and the circulation of nutrients around the body. Undigested material – shell, cartilage etc., are excreted back out of the cavity via the animal’s single orifice. Predators: Some species of nudibranchs (e.g. Aealidia papillasa) and snails (e.g. Eitanium tinctum) feed on the anemone’s tentacles. Also, some types of sea stars including the leather star, Dermasterias imbricata, sea snails and sea spiders (e.g. Pycnaganum stearnsi) feed on the column. Low tide & Desiccation: Many sea anemones reside in tide pools where there is always at least some salt water, but they can also survive in surge channels and other locations which expose them to air at lower tides. They do so by withdrawing their tentacles and contracting their columns. This adaptation reduces the surface area exposed to evaporation, and is effective for only certain degrees of exposure. Reproduction & Life Span: This anemone reproduces sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction takes place in the late spring and early summer and involves the production of gametes directly by the sexually mature polyp (anemone). Males release sperm which stimulate the females to release eggs. Eggs and sperm are ejected via the single orifice (mouth/anus) of the anemone. Adrift at sea, those eggs which are fertilized develop into planula larvae (flat shaped, ciliated, free swimming embryo). Each planula eventually settles and gives rise to a single new anemone.