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Perennial of the Boraginaceae family, found in central and western Europe, from the Pyrenees to Poland. It inhabits cool and shaded undergrowth, edges of deciduous forests, and hedges, on humus-rich and well-drained soils, generally in plains and at low altitudes.
It forms clumps of 20 to 30 cm, with long-stalked basal leaves, oval-lanceolate, dark green remarkably spotted with irregular silvery-white spots, an immediately recognizable distinctive feature. These spots, varying from one individual to another, have long fueled the symbolic interpretation of the plant, associated by ancient medicine with spotted lungs, hence its name.
One of the most striking features of the species is the coexistence on the same inflorescence of pink and blue flowers, this color change reflecting the evolution of cellular pH with the age of the flower. The funnel-shaped corollas are gathered in dense and drooping scorpioid cymes, very characteristic of the genus.
In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from March to May. In cultivation, it generally blooms from March to April.
It thrives in cool, humus-rich soil, in shade or partial shade, and does not tolerate prolonged summer drought.