lungwort

[ luhng-wurt, -wawrt ]

noun

1. a European plant, Pulmonaria officinalis, of the borage family, having blue flowers.
2. 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 /

noun

1. 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
2. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of lungwort¹

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

Example Sentences

Lungwort, with its spotty leaves that look like lung tissue, is often used for respiratory issues; dandelion, thought to help jaundice and other hepatic ailments because of its bright yellow color, really does protect the liver; and medicinal mushrooms that bear a resemblance to tumors have been shown in studies to slow their growth.

From New York Times

The blues and pinks of lungwort are as psychedelic as a Los Angeles sunset.

From The Guardian

Woodland plants, such as spreading bellflower and narrow-leaved helleborine, and lungwort lichens, continue to decline due to the absence of appropriate woodland management and the effects of atmospheric pollution.

From BBC

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

From Project Gutenberg

A cousin of the Lungwort, our native Mertensia virginica, has in the young plant an equally singular leafage; every ordinary process of leaf progress is reversed: the young shoots are not a tender green, but are almost black, and change gradually in leaf, stem, and flower calyx to an odd light green in which the dark color lingers in veins and spots until the plant is in its full flower of tender blue, lilac, and pink.

From Project Gutenberg