Pulmonaria officinalis
Pulmonaria officinalis
The Lungwort or Jerusalem cowslip (Pulmonaria officinalis L., 1753) is a herbaceous species belonging to the Boraginaceae family.
Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota Domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Magnoliophyta Division,
Magnoliopsida class,
Lamiales Order,
Boraginaceae family,
Genus Pulmonaria,
P. officinalis species.
The terms are synonymous:
– Pulmonaria maculosa Liebl .;
– Pulmonaria officinalis subsp. maculosa (Hayne) Gams;
– Pulmonaria tridentina Evers.
Within this species, the following subspecies are recognized:
– Pulmonaria officinalis subsp. marzolae G.Astuti, Peruzzi, Cristof. & P. Pupillo;
– Pulmonaria officinalis subsp. marzolii G.Astuti et al .;
– Pulmonaria officinalis subsp. officinalis.
Etymology –
The term Pulmonaria comes from púlmo, pulmónis lung: a plant that was used for the treatment of lung diseases.
The specific epithet officinalis comes from a medieval laboratory workshop: as a plant usable in pharmaceuticals, herbal medicine, liqueurs, perfumery and the like.
Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
The Lungwort is a plant present in an extended range throughout central and western Europe.
In Italy it is present in all the northern regions and in Tuscany. The regional distribution covers almost the entire territory, with a gap in the central portion of the lower Friuli plain.
In Spain it is widespread throughout the territory in wetlands up to the high valleys of the Pyrenees and other mountains.
Its habitat is that of deciduous broadleaf woods (oak, hornbeam, beech) on soils rich in organic substance, from sea level to the mountain belt, starting from 200 m up to 1600 m in height.
Description –
Pulmonaria officinalis is an evergreen perennial plant that has a fleshy, branched and creeping rhizome, from which a rosette of basal leaves and stems, erect and simple, up to 30-40 cm high, develop; the whole plant is more or less hairy.
The basal leaves are united in a rosette, oval-elliptical in shape, with a larger base and often heart-shaped; the apex is acute, the margin is whole, the surface is abundantly hairy; most of the leaves have the leaf blade spotted with whitish or lighter areas than the rest, but there are some varieties with non-spotted leaves.
The basal leaves have a long petiole, sometimes slightly winged; the upper leaves are sessile.
The flowers are carried by one or two terminal racemes; the calyx is tubular and ends with five triangular teeth; the corolla is tubular in the lower part, widens like a bowl and ends in five oval lobes; the corolla is reddish before flowering, then becomes blue-purplish and whitish upon withering.
The flowering period is between March and May.
The fruit is composed of four oval achenes terminated by a conical tip and enclosed in the bottom of the glass which becomes longer during ripening.
Cultivation –
Pulmonaria officinalis is an evergreen perennial that is used both in nature and cultivated.
Various parts of this plant are used both for medicinal and food purposes or for other uses.
It is a plant that prefers calcareous soils although it grows easily in any moderately good soil, including heavy clay soils.
It prefers full or partial shade in moist, humus-rich soil.
Withstands temperatures down to -20 ° C.
It is an excellent honey plant.
Propagation occurs by seed, with sowing in spring and transplanting in late spring or summer in the open field.
It can also propagate by division, during spring or autumn or after flowering in early summer if the soil is not too dry.
Customs and Traditions –
Pulmonaria officinalis is a plant that has been used for some time in both the food and medicinal fields.
For edible use, both raw and cooked leaves are used. These can be added to salads or used as herbal remedies. They taste quite bland but the leaves are low in fiber and are an acceptable addition to mixed salads, although their mucilaginous and slightly hairy texture makes them less palatable when eaten alone.
The young leaves are more palatable prepared as a cooked vegetable, even if they have a slightly slimy texture.
The plant is an ingredient used in some Vermouths.
For medicinal use, being a plant with a high content of mucilage, it is useful in the treatment of thoracic pathologies, resulting in particular benefit in cases of chronic bronchitis.
It combines well with other herbs, such as Tussilago farfara, in the treatment of chronic cough, including whooping cough, and can also be taken to treat asthma.
The leaves and flowering shoots are astringent, emollient, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, slightly expectorant and resolving.
They are often used for their healing effect in lung ailments and their mucilaginous nature makes them useful in treating sore throats.
The leaves can also be used externally to stop bleeding.
Distilled water is obtained from the plant which is an effective eye drop for tired eyes.
A homeopathic remedy is obtained from the plant which is used in the treatment of bronchitis, cough and diarrhea.
Among other uses, it should be remembered that it is a plant used as a floor covering tolerant of foot traffic and slow growing for open woods and border edges. In this case the plants should be spaced about 50 cm from each other in each direction.
The active ingredients contained in Pulmonaria officinalis are tannins between 10.27% and 10.67%, fatty substances composed of stearin, palmitin and myristinic acid, resin acids, ceryl alcohol, phytosterin, flobafen, invert sugar, polysaccharides, and others .
The ashes are rich in potassium and calcium salts, as well as in silicylic acid. It also has a saponin substance that can cause weak hemolysis.
Preparation Method –
The leaves of Pulmonaria officinalis are mainly used and can be used for external use even in case of haemorrhages.
These are harvested in spring and used fresh, for food use, or dried for later use in the medicinal field. In this case, the aerial parts of the flowering plant are harvested for medicinal purposes (flowering tops and leaves) by cutting them just above the ground level and drying at a temperature not exceeding 45 ° C.
With these, an infusion is prepared for the treatment of cough, whooping cough, bronchitis and sore throat and hoarseness. This is also sweat-inducing, anti-inflammatory, and diuretic. The 10% decoction is used in compresses as a disinfectant, emollient and anti-inflammatory for wounds.
During cooking, a good handful of plant, leaving it to boil for a quarter of an hour, the liquid is taken in four cups distributed throughout the day to facilitate expectoration and make the sputum more fluid.
It is also recommended in case of diarrhea, hemorrhoids and urinary bladder disorders.
The tender leaves are used instead in soups; fresh juice has dietary properties due to its vitamin A and C content.
Guido Bissanti
Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.
Warning: Pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; therefore no responsibility is taken for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.