10 



AMERICAN MEDICINAL LEAVES AND HERBS. 



LIVERLEAF. 



(1) Jfepatica hepatica (!>.) Karst.; (2) TTepatica acuta (Pursh) Britton. 



Synonyms. — (1) Hepatica triloba Chaix.; Anemone hepatica h. (2) Hepatica triloba 

 var. acuta Pursli: Ilepatica acuiiloba DC. 



Other common names. — (1) Round-leaved hepatica, common liverleaf, kidney liver- 

 leaf, liverwort (incorrect"), noble liverwort, heart liverwort, three-leaved liverwort, 

 liverweed, herb-trinity, golden trefoil, ivy flower, mouse-ears, squirrel cup; (2) heart 

 liverleaf, acute-lobed liverleaf, sharp-lobed liverleaf, sharp-lobed hepatica. 



Habitat and range. — The common liverleaf is found in woods from Nova Scotia to 

 northern Florida and west to Iowa and Missouri, while the heart liverleaf occurs from 



Quebec to Ontario, south 

 to Georgia (but rare near 

 the coast), and west to 

 Iowa and Minnesota. 



Description. — The hepat- 

 icas are among the earliest 

 of oTir spring flowers, blos- 

 soming about March, and 

 frequently before that 

 time. They grow only 

 about 4 to 6 inches in 

 height, with leaves pro- 

 duced from the roots on 

 long soft-hairy stalks and 

 spreading on the ground. 

 The thick and leathery 

 evergreen leaves are kid- 

 ney shaped or roundish 

 and deeply divided into 

 three oval, l)lunt lobes; the 

 young leaves are pale green 

 and soft hairy, but the 

 older ones become leathery 

 and smooth, expanding 

 when mature to almost 3 

 inches across; they are dark 

 green above, sometimes 

 with a purplish tinge, and 

 also of a purplish color on the under surface. The flowers, which are about one-half 

 inch in diameter, are borne singly on slender, hairy stalks arising from the root, and 

 vary in color from bluish to purple or white. Immediately beneath the flower are 

 three small, stemless, oval, and blunt leaflets or bracts, which are thickly covered 

 with soft, silky hairs. (Fig. 2.) 



The heart liverleaf is very similar to the common liverleaf. It grows perhaps a 

 trifle taller and the lobes of the leaf and the small leaflets or bracts immediately 

 under the flower are more sharply pointed. 



The hepaticas are members of the crowfoot family (Ranunculacese) and are 

 perennials. The name "liverwort," often given to these plants, is incorrect, 

 since it belongs to an entirely different genus. 



Collection, prices, and uses. — The leaves, which were official in the United States 

 Pharmacopoeia from 1830 to 1880, are the parts employed; they should be collected 

 219 



Fig. 2. — Liverleaf (^fpgtico hepatica), flowering plant. 



