Lungwort

Lungwort, or OAK-LUNGS (Sticta pulmonaria), a lichen with a foliaceous, leathery, spreading thallus, of an olive-green colour, pale brown when dry, pitted with numerous little cavities and netted, much lacerated; the shields (apothecia) marginal, reddish brown with a thick border. It grows on trunks of trees in mountainous regions, in Britain and other European countries, sometimes almost entirely covering them with its shaggy thallus. It has been used as a remedy for pulmonary diseases. It is nutritious, and, when properly prepared, affords a light diet, capable of being used as a substitute for Iceland moss; yet it is bitter enough to be used as a substitute for hops. It yields a good brown dye.—The name lungwort is also given to a genus of phanerogamous plants (Pulmonaria) of the natural order Boraginæ. The common lungwort (P. officinalis) is a rare and rather doubtful native of Britain, although common in some parts of Europe. It has ovate leaves and purple flowers, and was formerly employed in diseases of the lungs, but seems to have been recommended chiefly by a fancied resemblance to the lungs in its spotted leaves. It is mucilaginous and contains nitre. It has been used as a pot-herb.