Johnson’s Blue Lungwort – Pulmonaria angustifolia

One morning in early April while photographing at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland I spotted a patch of beautiful blue flowers. And these flowers were truely blue which not easy to find. It turns out they were Johnson’s Blue Lungwort (pulmonaria angustifolia).

Lungwort is a member of the Boraginaceae family and native to Europe and Asia. Any that are in the wild in the United States are most likely escapees from someone’s garden. Lungworts are perennial herbs that grow in clumps with small tubular flowers that grow in clusters. They bloom in early spring. They are hardy from zones 3a to 8b.

Some varieties of lungwort have spotted leaves, which in earlier times were thought to resemble diseased lungs. So the plants were used to treat pulmonary infections and became known as lungwort. While traditionally used to treat diseases such as tuberculosis, lungwort does contain toxic alkaloids – so should not be taken internally without medical supervision. It has been used externally to help heal wounds.

I really liked the delicate blue flowers which added a nice splash of color to the garden in early spring.