Roundleaf liverleaf Hepatica americana
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Anemone americana
- Anemonoides americana
- Hepatica triloba var. americana
- Phonetic Spelling
- he-PAT-ih-kuh a-mer-ih-KAY-nah
- Description
-
The round-lobed liverleaf is an early spring-blooming herbaceous perennial woodland wildflower native to Eastern and Central Canada and the Eastern United States. It is typically found in shaded woodlands rich with acidic organic soil. This rhizomatous plant grows erect, 3 to 9 inches tall and equally as wide. The new leaves are large, light green, with three rounded lobes or shamrock-like. From mid-March through April, its delicate flowers are borne atop hairy stalks, and the blooms may be white, light blue, lavender, and sometimes pink with 5 to 12 petal-like sepals. Three green hairy bracts are beneath the sepals. The flowers bloom among the previous year's reddish-brown foliage, much like the color of the human liver. The new light green leaves emerge once flowering occurs. Round-lobed liverleaf is a member of the buttercup family ( Ranunculaceae). The genus name Hepatica is Latin and means of the liver, referring to the leaf shape. The specific epithet americana means of North or South America. The common name round-lobed refers to its leaf shape. Its other common names are liverwort and liverleaf, and refer to the plant's liver-like leaf shape.
Prefers partial shade to full shade and moist, well-drained, organically rich acidic soils. The soil should be consistently moist. Carpenter bees and honeybees frequent the flowers to collect pollen. After the flowers are pollinated, the seeds form and drop off into the soil. Propagated by seeds or by division.
Best used in a shaded naturalized setting such as a woodland or native garden.
Quick ID Hint:
- Three-lobed, hairy leaves, rounded leaf tips, and persist through the winter.
- Hairy flower stalks
- Solitary flower with 5 to 12 petal-like sepals and 3 large, green, hairy bracts with a rounded tip
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Has no significant insect pests or diseases.
- See this plant in the following landscape :
- Durham County Extension Master Gardener℠ Demonstration Garden
- Cultivars / Varieties:
- Hepatica americana var acuta
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
- Hepatica americana var acuta
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Hepatica
- Species:
- americana
- Family:
- Ranunculaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Early settlers made an herbal tea from the leaves to treat liver ailments.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central and Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States
- Distribution:
- Native: Canada--Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec; United States--AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV, and WI.
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant attracts sweat bees, carpenter bees, honeybees, and flies.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Colorful
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 3 in. - 0 ft. 9 in.
- Width: 0 ft. 3 in. - 0 ft. 9 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Native Plant
- Wildflower
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- Less than 12 inches
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Spring
- Fruit Type:
- Achene
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is a hairy, oval-shaped, dry achene, measuring only 0.13 to 0.2 inches long and 0.05 to 0.6 inches wide. It does not split open when it ripens and only contains one seed. Fruit displays from March to June.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Solitary
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Star
- Flower Petals:
- Bracts
- Colored Sepals
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- The solitary flowers may be white, pink, blue, or lavender and are borne on a silky-hairy stalk. It has 5 to 12 colored petal-like sepals (usually 5 or 6). The center of the flower is a green cluster of carpels, with 10 to 30 white stamens. Each flower measures 0.5 to 1 inch in diameter. The green bracts beneath the sepals are oval, up to 0.5 inches long, with a blunt or rounded tip. Flowers bloom from mid-March to April.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Variegated
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Rosulate
- Leaf Shape:
- Orbicular
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Three to fifteen new light green or purple-mottled, thick, leathery, heart-shaped, basal leaves with three deeply rounded lobes open once the flowers bloom. The margins of the leaves are entire. The leaves are up to 3 inches long and equally as wide and borne on a hairy stalk. The leaves remain green through the spring and summer. During the fall and winter, the leaves become a darker green to maroon, dark purple, or brown. They will wither away in the spring as the plant starts to bloom.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Cross Section:
- Round
- Stem Form:
- Straight
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- The flower stalk is reddish-brown, circular, leafless, grows upright or angled outwards, and is densely hairy and unbranched; it measures 2 to 7 inches long.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Small Space
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Fairy Garden
- Native Garden
- Rock Garden
- Shade Garden
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Small Mammals
