Nearctica - Eastern Wildflowers - Ranunculaceae

Hepatica

(Hepatica nobilis)

Color Photograph: Paul Jackson, Cedar Creek Natural History Area, LTER, U.S. Dept. Energy and National Science Foundation.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis Schreb.)

Identification: Flowers on separate, elongate stalks, white, pink, or blue. Flowers with 6 to 10 petal-like sepals. Three bracts located below each flower. Leaves separate, arising from the base with hairy stems. Leaves divided into three lobes with the apex of each lobe rounded or pointed. Plant 4 to 6 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout eastern North America.

Habitat: Hepatica is found in dry or rocky woods.

Similar Species: The flowers and leaves are distinctive. Varieties of this species with round and pointed lobes have traditionally been treated as separated species under the names Round-lobed Hepatica and Pointed-lobed Hepatica.