Hepatica

Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis)

Three-lobed leaves that resemble the human liver! Hepatica! Liver leaf! On the east coast, you may find this early-blooming spring wildflower in the sharp-leaved or round-leaved form. And just to make it more complicated, they sometimes hybridize!

Here is a description of hepatica from Wikipedia: “Bisexual flowers 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.”

Although the leaves you may find in early spring are darkly colored (last year’s leaf), the flowering season gives way to the production of new green leaves that are bright and very attractive. See the photo gallery below.

Click on any photo to open the gallery: