lungwort

[ luhng-wurt, -wawrt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a European plant, Pulmonaria officinalis, of the borage family, having blue flowers.
any of various related plants of the genus Mertensia, as the North American M. virginica Virginia bluebell, having nodding clusters of blue flowers.

lungwort

/ ˈlʌŋˌwɜːt /

any of several Eurasian plants of the boraginaceous genus Pulmonaria, esp P. officinalis, which has spotted leaves and clusters of blue or purple flowers: formerly used to treat lung diseases
any of various boraginaceous plants of the N temperate genus Mertensia, such as Mertensia maritima (sea lungwort), having drooping clusters of tubular usually blue flowers

First recorded before 1000; Middle English long-wort, lung-wort “hellebore,” Old English lungen-wyrt; lung, wort ²

Lungwort helps infirmities of the lungs, coughs and shortness of breath.

Nor was it the colour of her eyes, the deep pure blue of the lungwort, that blue loveliness seen in no other flower on earth.

The changing blue and pink flowers of the Lungwort, somewhat characteristic of its family, are curious also.

Lungwort, however, was so called because the lichen Pulmonaria has a resemblance to lungs.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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