Lungwort

Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) is an early spring perennial of deciduous woods and woodland edges, recognised by its white-spotted leaves and by flowers that change during flowering from pink to blue, so that both colours stand on the same stem at once. It flowers in March and April, before the wood turns green.

The herb is gathered, that is the leafy shoots with their flowers, at the beginning of flowering. It is dried in the shade and at a low temperature; the leaves are fleshy and dry slowly, so they have to be spread in a thin layer and turned, or they go mouldy.

The name and the spotted leaves come from the old doctrine of signatures, by which a plant was held to heal the organ it resembled. That is an explanation from the Middle Ages and not evidence of an effect; we give it as part of folk tradition.

Use and evidence

There is no good clinical evidence for treating pneumonia, tuberculosis, bronchitis or bleeding.