An herb of the genus Pulmonaria (Pulmonaria officinalis), of Europe; -- so called because the spotted appearance of the leaves resembles that of a diseased lung.
Any plant of the genus Mertensia (esp. Mertensia Virginica and Mertensia Sibirica), plants nearly related to Pulmonaria. The American lungwort is Mertensia Virginica, Virginia cowslip.
Pulmonaria officinalis, a weedy perennial herb with hairy stems and white-spotted leaves. It is also called Pulmonaire, Spotted Dog, Bethlehem Sage and Soldiers and Sailors.
Any of several herbaceous perennials of the genus Mertensia. Represented in the North Country by the Tall Lungwort ( Mertensia paniculata).
(Pulmonaria officinalis). Coughs, pulmonary problems. The spotted leaves of this plant were thought to resemble tubercular lungs, and thus according to the "doctrine of signatures," Lungwort was employed for lung ailments ("wort" simply means plant).
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.
