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Pulmonaria saccharata

Common name:	Jerusalem Sage	Family:	Boraginaceae
Author:	Mill.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Central and southern Europe.
Habitat:	Woods and scrub[187]. Shaded positions in deep humus-rich soils[200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. picta[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bethlehem Lungwort [P,B], Betlehem Sage [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	saccharata = sweet
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Borage family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen perennial growing to 0.3m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower in May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The plant is said to be used as a spice[177, 183]. No more details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Ground cover.

A good ground cover plant for a shady position[188, 197]. Plants should be spaced about 60cm apart each way[208].

Cultivation details

Grows well in any moderately good soil including heavy clay soils[1, 31]. Prefers full to part shade in a moist humus rich soil[200]. Succeeds in the sunless shade of buildings[200]. Dislikes dry soils[200]. Plants growing in shady positions tolerate drought if the soil is rich in humus[190]. The leaves tend to wilt in hot weather when the plant is grown in full sun[190].
Hardy to about -20° c[187].
A very ornamental plant[233], it is semi-evergreen, forming small over-wintering rosettes[200].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].
A valuable early nectar source for bees[200].
Plants seen growing in dappled shade at Hilliers Arboretum in April 1999 were self-sowing quite freely[K].
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[200]. There are many named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring or autumn or after flowering in early summer if the soil is not too dry[200]. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Boraginaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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