Lungwort or Molly spilt the milk?

[Mr. Trench]

There is a herby like perennial that we have taken from garden to garden for years. We have always known it as "Molly Spilt the Milk". I was looking for some shading loving plants on Ebay and came across Lungwort. It looks really similar to the plant I have. Does anyone know if they are (or are not) the same thing? Or maybe we just had the wrong name all along?

Thanks

Andy

[Lucy Robyn]

Lungwort is Pulmonaria, I have it in my garden in a shady spot. It has varigated leaves and pink and blue flowers, very pretty. Never heard of "Molly spilt the milk" though.

[hedgewitch]

No - I've never heard of Molly spilt the milk either.
Which part of the world were you to learn that name for the Plant?

[Mr. Trench]

That's what my Mother in Law called it - from Wiltshire...

[eeksypeeksy]

According to this United States Department of Agriculture page, Pulmonaria officinalis has several common names:

- bloody-butcher
- boys-and-girls
- hundreds-and-thousands
- Jerusalem cowslip
- Jerusalem-sage
- Joseph-and-Mary
- lungwort
- Mary-spilt-the-milk
- soldiers-and sailors
- spotted-dog

And of course "Molly" is a pet name for Mary.

There is a thistle called St Mary's Thistle, supposedly because, according to legend, Mary dripped a bit of her milk on to the plant while feeding Jesus, and that's why the leaves have the milky pattern. I presume Pulmonaria's Mary/Molly-related names are for the same reason.