10 AMERICAN MEDICINAL LEAVES AND HERBS. 
LIVERLEAF. 
(1) Hepatica hepatica (L.) Karst.; (2) Hepatica acuta (Pursh) Britton. 
Synonyms.—(1) Hepatica triloba Chaix.; Anemone hepatica L. (2) Hepatica triloba 
var. acuta Pursh; Hepatica acutiloba 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 
Towa and Minnesota. 
Description.—The hepat- 
icas are among the earliest 
of our 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, blunt lobes; the 
young leaves are pale green 
and soit 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 
aiso 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 (Ranunculacez) 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 
Pharmacopeeia from 1830 to 1880, are the parts employed; they should be collected 
219 
Fig. 2.—Liverleaf ( Hepatica hepatica), flowering plant. 
en eo 
