Common name: Lungwort
Family: Boraginaceae, Borage
Height x width: 9-24" x 18-24", usually 12" x 24"
Growth rate: moderate
Foliage: green spotted white foliage on some cultivars
Flowers: red to blue, often red-pink turning blue as they fade; early spring
Hardiness: 2-8, varies with species
Soil: moist
Light: part shade, will tolerate sun in north if kept moist
Pests and problems:bacterial rot, powdery mildew, aphids
Landscape habit, uses: low mound, front of border, groundcover
Other interest: common name of "soldiers and sailors" from two color flowers often seen on plants at same time; common name from 15th century Doctrine of Signatures of Paracelsus which implied the appearance of a plant cured similar appearing ailment, hence this spotted-leaved plant should cure diseased lungs
Other culture: spreads by creeping rootstocks but is not aggressive
Propagation: easy by division of rootstocks in Spring, seed
Species:
angustifolia(an-gus-te-fol' ee-ah)--zones 2-8, bright blue flowers, 9-12" height, competes well under trees, foliage holds up better in the north, unspotted leaves, from central Europe
longifolia(lon-ge-fol' ee-ah)--zones 3-8, purple-blue flowers, 9-12" height, good species for the south, gray-spotted dark green leaves, leaves up to 6 times as long as wide, from western Europe
mollis(mol' iss)--zones 3-8, bluish-purple flowers, 9-12" height, soft felty green unspotted leaves, from Europe through Siberia
montana:rubra
officinalis(o-fish' e-nal-iss)--zones 4-8, red to rose-violet flowers usually, 9-12" height, white spotted leaves, from Europe
picta:saccharata
rubra (ru' bra)(montana)--zones 4-7, bright to coral red flowers early, 12-24" height, light green unspotted foliage is evergreen in mild climates, from southeast Europe
saccharata (sack-ehr-ah' tah)(picta)--zones 3-8, pink flowers turn blue with age, 9-18" height, many new cultivars with highly and variously spotted foliage, species from appearance of sugar dusted over leaves, from Italy and France
vallarsae(val-lehr' cee)--zones 4-8, red turning purple,
9-18" height, heavily spotted to all silvery-white, less softly hairy than
P.
mollis, from Italy
Cultivars:
| Cultivars, other taxa | species | flowers | leaves |
| 'Alba' | officinalis | white | spotted |
| 'Alba' | saccharata | white | spotted |
| subsp. albocorollata | rubra | pure white | felted green |
| 'Apple Frost' | -- | silver spots, apple green | |
| Argentea group | saccharata | pink turning blue | good spots |
| subsp. azurea | angustifolia | gentian-blue | green |
| 'Barfield Pink' | rubra | brick red, white margins | felted green |
| 'Benediction' | -- | dark blue, long bloom | dark green, large spots |
| 'Berries and Cream' | -- | rosy pink | silvery |
| 'Bertram (E.B.) Anderson' | longifolia | cobalt to violet-blue | dark green, silver spots |
| 'Beth's Blue' | -- | rich blue | faintly spotted |
| 'Beth's Pink' | -- | coral red | spotted, broad |
| 'Blaues Meer' | angustifolia | very blue | green |
| 'Blue Ensign' | -- | large, rich blue | broad, dark green |
| 'Blue Mist' | officinalis | pale, clear blue | heavily spotted |
| 'Bowles Blue' | officinalis | very pale blue | spotted |
| 'Bowles Red' | rubra | deep red to coral rose | spotted lime green |
| 'Boughton Blue' | -- | clear blue | silvery-gray blotches |
| 'British Sterling' | -- | magenta open blue | silvery centers, shiny |
| Cambridge (Blue) group | officinalis | pink opens pale blue | heart-shaped, spotted |
| subsp. cevennensis | longifolia | dark violet | spotted, long, clumps |
| 'David Ward' | rubra | coral red | pale green edged white |
| 'Dora Bielefeld' | saccharata | persistent pink, early | lime green, silver spots |
| 'Excalibur' | -- | wine turning pink | silver, green margins |
| 'Frühlingshimmel' | saccharata | pale blue | spotted ('Spring Beauty') |
| 'Glacier' | -- | pale blue, pink, white | dark green, silver spots |
| 'Highdown': 'Lewis Palmer' | saccharata | ||
| 'Janet Fisk' | saccharata | pinkish-blue | very spotted, marbled |
| 'Johnson's Blue' | angustifolia | blue | green, narrow |
| 'Kingswood' | -- | blue | white on dark green |
| 'Leopard' | saccharata | red tinted pink or purple | silver blotches |
| 'Lewis Palmer' | -- | deep blue fading pink | long dark green, silver |
| 'Little Star' | -- | azure blue, long bloom | narrow, silver spots |
| 'Margery Fish' | vallarsae | pink tinted blue | mostly bright silver |
| 'Mawson's Blue' | -- | bright violet-blue | green |
| 'Merlin' | -- | pale pink and blue | spotted, short |
| 'Milky Way' | -- | wine red opens dark blue | narrow, many silver spots |
| 'Mournful Purple' (Widow) | -- | purple | broad, faintly spotted |
| 'Mrs. Kittle' | -- | light rose | dark green, white spots |
| 'Mrs. Moon' | saccharata | pink turning blue | silvery-white marbled |
| 'Munstead Blue' | angustifolia | rich blue | green |
| 'Nuernberg' | -- | pink and blue | silver-white spots |
| 'Pierre's Pure Pink' | saccharata | salmon-pink | uniform spots |
| 'Pink Dawn' | saccharata | pink | silver spotted |
| 'Redstart' | rubra | dark red | green, compact |
| 'Regal Ruffles' | -- | ruffled | |
| 'Reginald Kaye' | saccharata | pink turning blue | silver spots |
| 'Roy Davidson' | -- | pink turning blue | blue-green, silver spots |
| rubra:P. rubra | angustifolia | ||
| 'Silver Streamers' | -- | ruffled, mostly silver | |
| 'Sissinghurst White' | officinalis | large white | silver-white spots |
| 'Spangled Gentian' | -- | gentian blue | long, narrow green |
| 'Smokey Blue' | saccharata | pink fading blue | silvery spotted |
| 'Spilled Milk' | -- | pink | silver, green specks, wide |
| 'Tim's Silver' | saccharata | mid blue | silver, green rim |
| 'Weetwood Blue' | vallarsae | clear, true blue | heavy silver |
| 'White Wings' | officinalis | white, pink eye, late | spotted |
©Authored by Dr. Leonard Perry, Professor, University of Vermont as part of PSS123 course.
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