Sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba) flowering in late April 2021 in southeast Minnesota. |
Sharp-lobed hepatica, also called liverwort or liver leaf from the shape of its leaves, is a native woodland perennial that flowers before the canopy leafs out. As for other woodland wildflowers, this timing takes advantage of the brighter light and more abundant moisture on the forest floor in early spring.
Depending on the year, hepatica begins flowering in March or April and continues for about a month. Its leaves persist through winter and resume photosynthesis in spring. Around the time hepatica stops flowering, new leaves emerge and last year's leaves die. New leaves are covered with long hairs that help protect them from cold spells. The hairs are lost as the leaves age.
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Left: Last year's leaves persist through winter, giving hepatica a head start on photosynthesis when spring arrives. Right: New leaves emerge when hepatica nears the end of its flowering period. |
Hepatica is in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae (ra-nun-cue-LAY-cee-ee). Typical of that family, the center of each flower is dome-shaped and bears many simple pistils and numerous stamens. Pistils are the seed-producing parts of a flower; simple pistils are composed of a single carpel, which evolved long ago from a seed-bearing leaf. Stamens are the pollen-producing parts of a flower.
Hepatica and several other members of the Ranunculaceae have no petals. Instead, their flowers have petal-like sepals above three green bracts. The flowers have pollen but no nectar and are an early-season source of food for several kinds of bees.
Pollinated flowers eventually form achenes (ah-KEENs), small, dry, indehiscent (non-splitting) fruits that bear just one seed. (Like in-the-shell sunflower seeds.) Attached to the achenes are tiny bodies of fat called elaiosomes (eh-LY-oh-somes). These nutritious packets attract ants, which collect the achenes and bring them back to their nest. There, they eat the elaiosomes and leave the achenes in a presumably safe place for their seeds to germinate. (For more information about ant dispersal, see Antsy Plants.)
Hepatica also reproduces by rhizomes, underground stems that grow from a parent plant to produce genetically identical offspring – clones, in other words. As explained in an earlier post (What is a rhizome?), vegetative reproduction is faster and less expensive in terms of energy, but it sacrifices genetic variability among the offspring. That variability can be an asset to a population if it's faced with a changed environment, because more genetic variety offers greater potential adaptability.
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Range of sharp-lobed hepatica (left) and round-lobed hepatica (right) in the Minnesota region. Maps from USDA Plants Database (1). |
A look-alike, round-lobed hepatica (Anemone americana), also grows in Minnesota. As its name suggests, its leaves have rounded instead of pointed lobes. Both species are found throughout the eastern half of the lower 48 states and adjacent provinces of Canada.
Cited References
1. Natural Resources Conservation Service. PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Accessed April 14, 2025, from https://plants.usda.gov.The Friends of the Wildflower Garden, Inc. Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.