| Pulmonaria: Common Name: Lungwort.
Spring and early-summer flowering plants often
with white or silver spotted leaves. The common name refers to this
spotting because herbalist believed the leaves resembled a cross section
of a lung.
They form clumps of deciduous leaves and
prefer cool soils, and some moisture. They can be propagated by division
and also by root cuttings. They will seed sparsely but plants will not
come true the parent. The flowers are tubular and grow in bunches on
semi-upright or trailing stems. In many types the flowers change colour
from pink or white to blue in their 3-5 day life, with both colours on a
plant at the same time.
The Hardy Plant Society publish an excellent
booklet on Pulmonaria, see www.hardy-plant.org.uk
for details.
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