This plant has broad leaves covered with dark spots, resembling diseased lungs. It is used in the treatment of diseased lungs, by boiling the leaves and drinking the infusion. The effect of a successful treatment is to render breathing easier and to clear fluids from the lungs caused by a whole array of diseases - pneumonia and tuberculosis to name but two. It does not actually cure the disease, but merely relieves this symptoms. With some diseases that alone can be the difference between life and death.