Lungwort
– Pulmonaria
Hardy Perennial.
One foot to eighteen inches.
Flowers of several colours, March to May.
An extremely long-suffering and thrifty plant,
which often suffers for its obliging nature by
being relegated to waste corners where hardly
anything else will grow. It makes a strong tuft
of ground leaves, of a dark green speckled with
patches of white, out of which rise heads of small
flowers, red or rose as they open, changing to
purplish blue when fully blown. This description
applies to the extremely common “type”
(P. officinalis); there are several less-known
kinds, such as P. Arvernensis, deep blue; P. officinalis
alba, white; P. saccharata, leaves strongly marked
with white marbling, flowers pink changing to
purple.
The Lungwort will grow almost anywhere, except
in hot and droughty positions. It thrives under
trees (not evergreens, or specimens which keep
the soil dry); for its full development it desires,
like many more favoured plants, a moist and rather
heavy loam. Set out good pieces of the plant any
time between October and the turn of the year;
as the Lungwort is an early flowerer, it should
be in its position before growth begins.
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