Hepatica americana (Photo Credit: Dan Whitten)
by Dan Whitten
I always like to introduce a plant by giving its name, location, and description, and then tell other stories like how it got its name or how it is useful.
The common names of two similar plants in SC are Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) and Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana). The name “Hepatica” can be interchanged with the name “Liverleaf” (not to be confused with “Liverwort,” which is a spore producing vascular plant). Liverleaf is a seed-producing, herbaceous plant of the forest floor.
The scientific names have been changed a couple of times in Weakley’s Flora of the Southeastern United States. On May 21, 2015, the genus for both species changed from Hepatica to Anemone. Then on October 20, 2020, it changed back to the genus Hepatica. Thankfully, it remained the same in the latest edition of April 24, 2022. Interestingly, though, the 2022 version of A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina by McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, and White categorized it as the genus Anemone. (This book was featured in the September 2022 statewide SCNPS program and is a fantastic reference for flower enthusiasts.)
Of the two species of Hepatica occurring in South Carolina, the Sharp-lobed is the less common and occurs over calcareous or mafic rock, typically found in the mountainous part of the state. The Round-lobed is more common, with a wider geographic distribution. The differences between the two are in the tips of the lobes of the basal leaves, which are either sharp or rounded (hence the common names). In the bracts which are directly below the petaloid sepals, they are sharp tipped in the H. acutiloba and round tipped in the H. americana.
Impress your (granted, thoroughly nerdy) friends by asking a trick question: How many petals does Hepatica have? Answer: none! They have instead 5-12 (typically around 7) petaloid sepals which are born on hairy pedicels and subtended by 3 bracts that mimic the sepals.
The petaloid sepals can be white, blue, lavender or purple. The basal leaves persist throughout the winter, and generally the new leaves come out well after the flowers in the spring. The flowers of the upstate reach peak bloom in March, but they can also be found at Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve as early as February and up near the Blue Ridge Parkway as late as April. At Station Cove Falls, I’ve seen a few plants flowering on the first day of the year, and once I saw a flower on Christmas Eve. So I challenge you to find a native and herbaceous wildflower that blooms any earlier in the year than Hepatica.
According to the Doctrine of Signatures, a plant was used to treat the part of the body that it resembled, and because the lobes of the brownish leaf of Hepatica in winter resembled the liver (aka the hepatic organ) in color and shape, it was used to treat everything from cowardice to freckles, including jaundice and other ailments believed to be of the liver.
George Hyams was collecting Hepatica in May of 1877 when he discovered the then long-lost plant that we now know as Oconee Bells, or Shortia galacifolia.
Hepatitis A (Foto: Dan Whitten) - Mimea ya asili ya Amerika, ambayo inaitwa kwa jina lake, mahali, na maelezo, ni muhimu sana kwa ajili ya kuendeleza afya ya binadamu. Majina ya kawaida ya mimea miwili kama hiyo katika SC ni Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) na Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana). Jina <unk>Hepatica<unk> inaweza kubadilishwa na jina <unk>Liverleaf<unk> (si kuchanganyikiwa na <unk>Liverwort,<unk> ambayo ni spora kuzalisha mimea mishipa). Liverleaf ni mbegu-kuzalisha, mimea ya nyasi ya sakafu ya msitu. Majina ya kisayansi yamebadilishwa mara kadhaa katika Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern United States. Mnamo Mei 21, 2015, jamii ya aina zote mbili ilibadilishwa kutoka Hepatica hadi Anemone. "Kisha, mnamo Oktoba 20, 2020, ilibadilishwa tena kuwa ""Hepatica.""" Kwa bahati nzuri, ilibaki sawa katika toleo la hivi karibuni la Aprili 24, 2022. "Kwa mfano, katika kitabu cha A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina cha mwaka wa 2022 kilichoandikwa na McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, na White, mimea hiyo inaitwa ""anemone.""" Kitabu hiki kilitolewa katika programu ya SCNPS ya jimbo la Septemba 2022 na ni kumbukumbu nzuri kwa wapenzi wa maua. Kati ya spishi mbili za Hepatica zinazopatikana katika South Carolina, Sharp-lobed ni ya kawaida na hutokea juu ya miamba ya chokaa au mafic, ambayo hupatikana katika sehemu ya milima ya jimbo. Mnyama anayeitwa Round-lobed ni wa kawaida zaidi, na anaenea sana katika maeneo mbalimbali. Tofauti kati ya hizo mbili ni katika ncha za vipande vya majani ya msingi, ambayo ni kali au mviringo (kwa hiyo majina ya kawaida). Katika bracts ambayo ni moja kwa moja chini ya petaloid sepals, wao ni mkali tipped katika H. acutiloba na pande zote tipped katika H. americana. Piga kelele marafiki wako (naomba, nerds kabisa) kwa kuuliza swali la ujanja: Hepatica ina petals ngapi? Jibu: Hakuna! Kwa kawaida, kuna sepals petaloid 5-12 ambazo huzaliwa kwenye pedicels zenye nywele na huongozwa na bracts 3 ambazo zinaiga sepals. Sepals petaloid inaweza kuwa nyeupe, bluu, lavender au zambarau. Majani ya msingi huendelea kudumu wakati wote wa majira ya baridi kali, na kwa kawaida majani mapya hutokea baada ya maua kuchipuka katika majira ya kuchipua. Maua ya upstate hufikia kilele cha maua mnamo Machi, lakini pia yanaweza kupatikana katika Hifadhi ya Urithi wa Stevens Creek mapema Februari na karibu na Blue Ridge Parkway mwishoni mwa Aprili. Katika Station Cove Falls, nimeona mimea michache ikizaa siku ya kwanza ya mwaka, na mara moja niliona ua siku ya Krismasi. Kwa hivyo, ni muhimu sana kupata maua ya asili ya mwituni ambayo huchanua mapema kuliko Hepatica. Kulingana na Doktrina ya Saini, mmea huo ulitumiwa kutibu sehemu ya mwili ambayo ilifanana, na kwa sababu lobes za jani la rangi ya kahawia la Hepatica wakati wa majira ya baridi kali zilifanana na ini (au kiungo cha ini) kwa rangi na umbo, ilitumiwa kutibu kila kitu kutoka kwa ujasiri hadi freckles, pamoja na jaundice na magonjwa mengine ambayo yaliaminika kuwa ya ini. "George Hyams alikuwa akikusanya Hepatica mnamo Mei 1877 wakati alipogundua mmea uliopotea kwa muda mrefu ambao sasa unajulikana kama ""Oconee Bells"" au ""Shortia galactifolia."""