Lungwort in garden, Byfield, 13 March, 2013 |
The Common Lungwort, Pulmonaria officinalis, is not native to Britain but has been grown here for many centuries and is well naturalised on rough banks and so on, although George Claridge Druce, writing in 1930, recorded it only from a railway bank "near Roade". Its common name refers to the white spots on the leaves (see blog for 29 January, 2013) and these can be quite attractive. The flowers tend to open pink and then turn blue but this is not always the case and my photograph, taken in Curgenven Close, Byfield, makes this clear.
If you must grow Lungworts, look for cultivars of Pulmonaria angustifolia. They are more robust with larger flowers and some very attractive varieties are available in nursery catalogues.
Incidentally the name "Lungwort" is also applied to a lichen, Lobaria pulmonaria, a large and impressive species confined largely to the north and west of Britain. I saw it some 7-8 years ago in damp woodland near Porlock but, if it ever did occur in Northamptonshire it is now extinct.
The lichen, Lobaria pulmonaria on a tree trunk. |
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