Pulmonaria obscura

Pulmonaria obscura, common names unspotted lungwort or Suffolk lungwort, is a herbaceous evergreen perennial rhizomatous plant of the genus Pulmonaria, belonging to the family Boraginaceae. In Central Europe it is the most widely occurring member of the Boraginaceae.

Pulmonaria obscura
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Boraginales
Family:	Boraginaceae
Genus:	Pulmonaria
Species:	P. obscura
Binomial name
Pulmonaria obscura Dumort.
Synonyms
Pulmonaria officinalis subsp. obscura (Dumort) Murbeck.

Description

The perennial herb reaches a height of about 10 to 20, sometimes up to 30 cm. The stem grows upright and is covered in the upper part with strong bristles, stem glands and soft hairs. The leaves have softer hairs. They are 4–6 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, and very rarely with pale green patches along the veins. The basal leaves are heart-shaped and oblong, have an approximately 5 to 10 cm long stem, and a length of 4 to 12 cm and are about twice as long as wide. The flowers are about 10 to 15 mm long, initially pink and later red-violet. The corolla tube is bald under the hair ring. The seeds have a length of 3.5 to 4 mm and are brown to black.

Habitat

It grows in deciduous and coniferous mixed forests. It usually prefers poorly drained, nutrient-rich, and mostly calcareous soils.

Distribution

Its distribution ranges from central Sweden and southern Finland to Central Europe. In Austria, the species is very rare and endangered, while it is common in Northern Switzerland. In Britain it is quite rare, but its presence has been confirmed for Suffolk.

References

• Birkinshaw, C.R & Sanford, M.N. (1996). "Pulmonaria obscura Dumort. (Boraginaceae) in Suffolk" (PDF). Watsonia. 21: 169–178. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2014-04-14.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)

External links

• Pulmonaria obscura