Pulmonaria officinalis L.
Lungwort, common lungwort
Pulmonaria is not a North American native. It comes from Europe and western Asia, and it has become naturalized in the United Kingdom and part of Canada. Both the scientific name Pulmonaria and the common name “lungwort” derive from the “Doctrine of Signatures,” an old belief that plants that resembled parts of the body were intended to treat them. The spots on the leaves resembled ulcers on ailing lungs, so the plants were used to treat pulmonary infections, among them coughs and bronchitis. (Note: there is a completely different plant that is also called lungwort, for essentially the same reason: its resemblance to lungs.)
Plants: 10–12″ (25–30 cm) tall and 1–1½′ (30–45 cm) around, with a hairy green stem.
Leaves: Upright-facing lanceolate dark green leaves are hairy and rough, and speckled with silver spots.
Flowers: Loose clusters of ½″ (1.3 cm) 5-petaled bell-shaped flowers are pink to violet to blue. Their color differs due to the presence of anthocyanins that change color from red in acidic soils to blue in alkaline soils. Flowers appear from March to May.
Fruits: ¼–⅜″ (7–10 mm).
Habitats: Deciduous and beech mixed forests from the lowlands to the mountains. It prefers fresh and shady areas, nutrient-rich and mostly calcareous, stony or pure clay loam soils.
Edibility:
Medical: In addition to use for treatment of lung conditions as mentioned above, it has also be used to cleanse the digestive system, and for treating diarrhea or cystitis. It has been used to strengthen the uterus during pregnancy or to help with childbirth; as a gargle for sore throats; or to help reduce bleeding after passing kidney stones. Its effectiveness for any of these purposes is dubious.
Online References:
Found in the woods, but it must have escaped from a nearby yard. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
5/26/2024 · McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, South Paris, Maine 
Found in the woods, but it must have escaped from a nearby yard. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Boraginaceae | Borages or forget-me-nots |
| Genus | Pulmonaria | From the Latin pulmo, “lung,” for its resemblence to lungs |
| Species | officinalis | Sold as a pharmaceutical, with real or alleged medicinal qualities |
Pulmonaria officinalis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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