Lovely Lungworts. Small but beautiful; hues of pink and blue in the flowers of Pulmonaria officinalis (top) and the intense gentian-blue flowers of Blue Ensign, a cultivar of Pulmonaria angustifolia (bottom).
 When the common name of a plant ends in "wort" we know it was once believed to have curative powers. If the Latin name ends in "officinalis" this too indicates it was at one time considered medicinal.
 Lungwort would have derived its name from the medieval 'doctrine of signatures': the belief that if a part of a plant looks like a part of the body it would have corresponding healing properties. The speckled leaves of P. officinalis in particular must have suggested an association with the lungs.