The word hepatica derives from the Greek ἡπατικός, from 'liver', because the three-lobed leaf was thought to resemble the human liver.
Description
s with pink, purple, blue, or white sepals and three green bracts appear singly on hairy stems from late winter to spring. Butterflies, moths, bees, flies and beetles are known pollinators. The leaves are basal, leathery, and usually three-lobed, remaining over winter.
Cultivation
Hepatica cultivation has been popular in Japan since the 18th century, where flowers with doubled petals and a range of colour patterns have been developed. Noted for its tolerance of alkaline limestone-derived soils, Hepatica may grow in a wide range of conditions; it can be found either in deeply shaded deciduous woodland and scrub or grassland in full sun. Hepatica will also grow in both sandy and clay-rich substrates, being associated with limestone. Moist soil and winter snowfall are required; Hepatica is tolerant of winter snow cover, but less so of dry frost.
Propagation
Propagation is done by seeds or by dividing vigorous clumps in spring. However, seedlings take several years to reach bloom size, and divided plants are slow to thicken.
Herbalism
Hepatica is named from its leaves, which, like the human liver, have three lobes. It was once used as a medicinal herb. Owing to the doctrine of signatures, the plant was once thought to be an effective treatment for liver disorders. Although poisonous in large doses, the leaves and flowers may be used as an astringent, as a demulcent for slow-healing injuries, and as a diuretic.
Species
The known hepatica species can be divided into two serieswith respect to the leaf shape. The leaves of the series Triloba Ulbr. Tamura: are three-lobed with an smooth leaf edge. The series AngulosaTamura are three- to five-lobed and leaf margin is mostly serrated. Between one and ten species of Hepatica are recognised, with some of the taxa more often treated as varieties:
Series with smooth leaf edge (Triloba)
Hepatica nobilis = common hepatica As sites, light beech and oak forests with calcareous, clay-rich soils are preferred. In the Alps it climbs to elevations of 2200 meters.
Hepatica asiatica — China: central and eastern, Korea, coastal region of the Far East of Russia; Forests and grassy slopes from 700 to 1100 m.
