Pulmonaria | |
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Pulmonaria officinalis | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Boraginales |
Family: | Boraginaceae |
Subfamily: | Boraginoideae |
Genus: | Pulmonaria L., 1753 |
Type species | |
Pulmonaria officinalis L., 1753 | |
Species [1] | |
18; see text | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Pulmonaria (lungwort) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe and western Asia, with one species (P. mollissima) east to central Asia. According to various estimates there may be between 10 and 18 species found in the wild.
Lungworts are evergreen or herbaceous [2] perennials that form clumps or rosettes. They are covered in hairs of varied length and stiffness, and sometimes also bear glands. The underground parts consist of a slowly creeping rhizome with adventitious roots. Flowering stems are unbranched, rough, covered with bristly hairs, usually not exceeding 30 cm (12 in), with a few exceptions ( P. mollis , P. vallarsae ). The stems are usually upright, or slightly spreading. The plants reach 15–25 cm (6–10 in) in height, spreading up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) wide. [3]
The leaves are arranged in rosettes. The blades are usually large, from narrowly lanceolate to oval, with the base ranging from heart shaped to very gradually narrowing, and can have a sharply pointed or blunt tip. The leaf margin is always entire, but in some species and forms can be rather wavy. Basal leaves are carried on stalks that can be short or longer than the leaf blade in various species. Stem leaves are smaller and often narrower, and are unstalked or clasping the stem. All leaves are covered with hairs that are usually bristly, or occasionally soft. The leaves are often prominently spotted in black and blue, or sometimes in pale green, or unspotted. The spots are due to the presence of foliage air pockets. These pockets, which cool the lower leaf surface, mask the presence of chlorophyll. [3]
The inflorescence is a terminal scorpioid cyme as a cymose corymb, with bracts, on short pedicels (stalks), reaching just above the foliage. [3] The flowers are heterostylous, with two distinct forms of flower within each species; those with short stamens and long styles ("pin" flowers) and those with long stamens and short styles ("thrum" flowers), with the former usually being larger and more showy. The calyx is hairy, 5-lobed, tubular or funnel-shaped, enlarging as the fruit ripens. The corolla is funnel-shaped and consists of a long, cylindrical tube and a limb with five shallow lobes. Within the corolla throat, five tufts of hairs alternate with the stamens to form a ring. The colour of the corolla varies from purple, violet or blue to shades of pink and red, or sometimes white. The colour of the flower in bud is often pink to violet when they first emerge, which then changes to blue as the flower matures. [3] The stamens and style are included within the corolla and not protruding.
The nutlets are smooth, egg-shaped, brownish, up to 4.5 mm (0.2 in) long and 3 mm (0.1 in) wide, each containing a single seed. Up to four nutlets per flower are produced, ripening mostly in summer.
Pulmonaria is a genus in the Boraginoideae subfamily of Boraginaceae, consisting of approximately 18 species, although species delineation (speciation) has proved problematic. [4] Within the Boraginoideae, Pulmonaria is placed in the tribe Boragineae, where it is closely related to Borago . [5]
18 species are accepted. [1]
The scientific name Pulmonaria is derived from Latin pulmo (lung). [6] In the times of sympathetic magic, the spotted oval leaves of P. officinalis were thought to symbolize diseased, ulcerated lungs, and so were used to treat pulmonary infections. The common name in many languages also refers to lungs, as in English "lungwort", German Lungenkraut, French herbe aux poumons, Serbian plućnjak... In some East European languages, the common name is derived from a word for honey, e.g. Russian medunitza, Polish miodunka, Serbian meduniče, Bulgarian "медуница".
The species of the genus are distributed across Eurasia. [4]
Pulmonaria is an early spring flowering deciduous perennial, retaining its leaves till late winter, just before the new growth emerges. [3]
Pulmonaria species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species. These include the case-bearer Coleophora pulmonariella , which feeds exclusively on P. saccharata, and the moth Ethmia pusiella , which has been recorded on P. officinalis.
Of the known species of Pulmonaria, only about eight are known in cultivation. [3] Pulmonaria are used as ornamental garden plants, particularly P. saccharata , P. angustifolia [2] and P. longifolia . Others include P. affinis. [3] They are especially valued as groundcover in damp shaded areas, producing their blue and/or pink flowers in late winter and early spring, accompanied by dense clusters of heart-shaped leaves that are often strikingly mottled and marbled, throughout summer.
The following cultivars, of mixed or uncertain parentage, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- [7]
Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-notfamily, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees, and herbs in 146 to 154 genera with a worldwide distribution.
Echium vulgare, known as viper's bugloss and blueweed, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae. It is native to most of Europe and western and central Asia and it occurs as an introduced species in north-eastern North America, south-western South America and the South and North Island of New Zealand. The plant root was used in ancient times as a treatment for snake or viper bites. If eaten, the plant is toxic to horses and cattle through the accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the liver.
Borago, or borage, is a genus of five species of herbs native to the Mediterranean, with one species, Borago officinalis, cultivated and naturalized throughout the world.
Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored flowers. It is cultivated in gardens for its attractive flowering spikes and pleasant scent.
Pulmonaria longifolia, the narrow-leaved lungwort, is a semi-evergreen clump-forming herbaceous perennial plant, native to western Europe, including Britain, France, Spain, Portugal. It grows in semi-shaded habitats, such as woodland and scrub, to 2000 m above sea level.
Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.
Mertensia virginica is a spring ephemeral plant in the Boraginaceae (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.
Pulmonaria officinalis, common names lungwort, common lungwort, Mary's tears or Our Lady's milk drops, is a herbaceous rhizomatous evergreen perennial plant of the genus Pulmonaria, belonging to the family Boraginaceae.
Myosotis sylvatica, the wood forget-me-not or woodland forget-me-not, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe. This spring-flowering plant and its cultivars, typically with blue flowers, are the familiar forget-me-nots of gardens.
Pentaglottis is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. It is represented by a single species, Pentaglottis sempervirens, commonly known as green alkanet or evergreen bugloss, and it is one of several related plants known as alkanet. It is a bristly, perennial plant native to southwestern Europe, in northwest Iberia and France.
Phacelia campanularia is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common names desertbells, desert bluebells, California-bluebell, desert scorpionweed, and desert Canterbury bells. Its true native range is within the borders of California, in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, but it is commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant and it can be found growing elsewhere as an introduced species.
Lobelia erinus is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae, native to southern Africa.
Anchusa officinalis, also knowns as common bugloss or common alkanet, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is native to Europe and small parts of western Asia, but has been escaped from cultivation to grow in additional locations in Europe and the Americas. The flowers are noted for their popularity with bumblebees due to a large nectar flow. The plants have been used in traditional medicines, but were falling out of favor by the early 1800s. They are still planted in gardens for their popularity with bees and their blue flowers.
Mertensia paniculata, also known as the tall lungwort, tall bluebells, or northern bluebells, is an herb or dwarf shrub with drooping, bright-blue, bell-shaped flowers. It is native to northwestern North America and the Great Lakes.
Andersonglossum virginianum, known as southern wild comfrey, is a flowering plant in the borage family native to North America. It is also sometimes called blue houndstongue.
Pulmonaria saccharata, the Bethlehem lungwort or Bethlehem sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to France and Italy. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial which is closely related to the common lungwort. Growing to 10 cm (4 in) tall by 60 cm (24 in) wide, it has lance-shaped leaves with white confluent spots, and pink or white flowers in spring.
Pulmonaria angustifolia, the narrow-leaved lungwort or blue cowslip, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to central and north eastern Europe. Growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) broad, it is an herbaceous perennial with hairy oval leaves and masses of bright blue flowers in spring. The subspecies azureus has brighter blue flowers.
Pulmonaria obscura, common names unspotted lungwort or Suffolk lungwort, is a herbaceous evergreen perennial rhizomatous plant of the genus Pulmonaria, belonging to the family Boraginaceae. In Central Europe it is the most widely occurring member of the Boraginaceae.
Selkirkia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. Three species occur on the South American mainland and one, Selkirkia berteroi, the first of the genus to be reported, is an endemic on Robinson Crusoe Island off the coast of Chile. It was previously considered a monotypic genus.
Mertensia sibirica, commonly known as Japanese bluebells or Siberian bluebells, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Boraginaceae. Originally discovered by Carolus Linnaeus, who named it Pulmonaria sibirica, this plant is found, as its name implies, in Eastern Siberia and northern China. After review of the plant's morphology, its taxonomic position was changed to Mertensia sibirica by botanist and plant collector George Don, who put forth the notion of the change, which was eventually accepted, most likely due to the striking resemblance to the related species in the Americas like Mertensia virginica, or Virginia bluebells.