This gorgeous little cloud of blue is called Pulmonaria. It is a perennial herb that grows in mounds of spotted leaves with clusters of blue (or pinky blue) blossoms. The plants like semi-shade which makes Pulmonaria a great choice for gardens here in the northwest. Here's more info from Wikipedia:The lungworts are the genus Pulmonaria of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe and western Asia, with one species (P. mollissima) east to central Asia. According to various estimates there may be between 10 and 18 Pulmonaria species found in the wild, but the taxonomy of this genus is very confusing.
The scientific name Pulmonaria is derived from Latin pulmo (the lung). In the times of sympathetic magic, the spotted oval leaves of P. officinalis were thought to symbolize diseased, ulcerated lungs, and so were used to treat pulmonary infections. The common name in many languages also refers to lungs, as in English "lungwort" and German "Lungenkraut". In some East European languages, the common name is derived from a word for honey, e.g. Russian "medunitza" and Polish "miodunka".
English colloquial names include Lungwort, Soldiers and Sailors, Spotted dog, Joseph and Mary, Jerusalem Cowslip, Bethlehem Sage.
3 comments:
Yay, I found your site. Just wanted to say thank you for the little jasmine plant in the pot. What a pleasant surprise. Thank you for thinking of my garden. Rachel
I am going to have to write this one down. It would be perfect for a difficult spot in our garden...We have a partially shaded area behind the garage where there was a tree in the past, but it is newly available this year. Thanks!
I truly enjoyed your post today. I love beautiful flowers so much. My son lived at one time in Portland, it is a lovely place, but cold.ies
Post a Comment