Discoveries in the diverse meadow of the Naone ecological project:
Rock Rose (Helianthemum nummularium)
Indicator of the light and alpine representative of the rockrose family
The meadow in Naone is already very diverse ‘by nature’. It has wet and dry, sunny and rather shady areas, hollows with more humus and very shallow, stony zones. Furthermore, fertiliser has never been applied here. As a southern mountain meadow of medium altitude, it combines flora from the valley with alpine influences.
To stimulate a more differentiated perception, one small flower was analyzed as an example. The rock rose is a small sub-shrub that belongs to the alpine flora and is found in very patchy, rocky grasslands.It is considered to be an indicator of the light and belongs to the rockrose family, the larger members of which are a characteristic element of the Mediterranean shrubland. This plant is characterised by the fact that the individual flower only blooms for one day, often only until midday, but the plant itself remains in bloom for weeks.
The Helianthemum nummularium blooms very close to the house in the barren gravel soil and yet you often don’t really notice it until you have got to know it. Despite its bright yellow color, it doesn’t really command your attention.
Medicinal plant according to Dr. Edward Bach
A contemplation exercise is therefore also an example of how getting to know something helps us to develop a sense of it.
Our little yellow flower on the path above the house and in numerous other barren spots on the property is known as ‘Rock Rose’; it is an important medicinal plant in the Bach Flower System, and is also contained in Bach’s ‘Rescue Remedy’. The selection of remedies is not based on the ingredients of a plant, but rather on its relationship to cosmic qualities. These manifest directly in the plant and yet are only perceptible supersensibly.
Embodiment of a spiritual virtue
According to Edward Bach, illness is a corrective to promote a previously neglected development. In this sense, plants embody virtues that also want to be developed in and through people. Bach’s approach is therefore very profound and thoroughly philosophical. He suggests, in order to overcome an illness, people are not concerned with themselves and the illness, but with the development of virtues and abilities that generally benefit the greater whole. Bach’s flower remedy system largely agrees with the objective’s of the Naone project.
After we had first perceived the rock rose through our senses during a plant observation, described it in concrete terms, and then formed a mental image from memory, we moved on to a question that cannot be directly deduced from our senses.
This question was held in concentration for a few minutes.
What virtue is expressed in the rock rose? What spiritual quality does it carry into the world? What does it specifically want to promote through and in people?
„Are you seeking the highest, the greatest?
The plant can teach you:
What it is without will, you become willingly – that’s it!”
Friedrich von Schiller (1759 – 1805)
Martin Sinzinger, 13. Juni 2025
