Lungwort
Pulmonaria
- Known today as
- Pulmonaria officinalis. A woodland perennial with white-spotted leaves and flowers that open pink and turn blue.
- Kind
- Plant
- Constituents
- mucilage, allantoin, rosmarinic acid, and 1 more
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Lungwort: what was it used for?
The leaves used as an expectorant and soothing remedy for coughs and complaints of the lungs; its name officinalis marks it as a recognized apothecary’s drug.
Lungwort: what does modern science say?
The spots are air pockets just beneath the leaf surface that probably help to cool it, and have nothing to do with human lungs; no controlled evidence supports the traditional use.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- Mechanism
- A borage relative whose mucilage soothes a cough and whose spotted leaf was read as a lung: there is no expectorant principle, and the plant, unlike most of its family, carries no detectable pyrrolizidine alkaloids in most analyses.
- Toxic dose
- Safe at tea doses.
- Standing
- No monograph; dropped from the pharmacopoeias.
- Wichtl, M. (2004). Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, 3rd ed., “Pulmonariae herba.” Book, seen in reviews
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Lungwort: what lore surrounds it?
The white-spotted leaves were read by the doctrine of signatures as diseased lung in plant form, the plant’s own sign of what it was sent to cure.
In Their Own Words
Mrs Grieve says the plant's popular and Latin names came from its speckled leaves resembling lungs, and that its former use rested partly on the doctrine of signatures.
“Its popular and Latin names seem to have been derived from the speckled appearance of the leaves resembling that of the lungs, and their use in former days was partly founded on the doctrine of signatures.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Lungwort, Lungwort, Description. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
She says it once grew in almost every garden as 'Jerusalem Cowslip' and was held in great esteem for diseases of the lungs.
“The Lungwort formerly held a place in almost every garden, under the name of 'Jerusalem Cowslip'; and it was held in great esteem for its reputed medicinal qualities in diseases of the lungs.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Lungwort, Lungwort. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Sources
- Morris Arboretum, “Plant Names Tell Their Stories: Pulmonaria.” Book, seen in reviews
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 2 cited: 2 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 27, 2026
- Chicago
“Lungwort.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 27, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/lungwort.
- MLA
“Lungwort.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 27 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/lungwort. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Lungwort. (2026, September 27). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/lungwort
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See Also
Sharing mucilage, allantoin, rosmarinic acid
Verbascum thapsus · Sempervivum tectorum · Plantago major · Viola tricolor · Snail · Cynoglossum officinale · Symphytum officinale · Salvia rosmarinus
Drawing on the same sources: Wichtl
Nearby in the alphabet
Madder (Rubia tinctorum) · Lovage (of the carrot family) · Madonna lily (Lilium candidum) · Lourdes water · Mallow and marshmallow (Malva sylvestris and Althaea officinalis) · Long pepper (The catkin-like fruit of Piper longum) · Malmsey · Lodestone (naturally magnetic iron ore)
Historical description, not medical advice.