hepatica

American  

[hi-pat-i-kuh] / hɪˈpæt ɪ kə /

noun

1. any plant belonging to the genus Hepatica, of the buttercup family, having heart-shaped leaves and delicate purplish, pink, or white flowers.

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hepatica British  

/ hɪˈpætɪkə /

noun

1. any ranunculaceous woodland plant of the N temperate genus Hepatica, having three-lobed leaves and white, mauve, or pink flowers

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Etymology

Origin of hepatica

1540–50; < Medieval Latin: liverwort, noun use of feminine of Latin hēpaticus hepatic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hepatica

The pale blue hepatica, with leaves shaped like the lobes of the liver, was good for any liver disorder.

From Time Magazine Archive

Folks thought, Mr. Chris said, that hepatica leaves were good for liver medicine because the leaves were the shape of livers.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen

I was out in the woods to-day, and I found this little hepatica which I send you.

From Harper's Young People, April 27, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

After the unusually severe winter of 1880-81, the variety of hepatica called the sharp-lobed was markedly sweet in nearly every one of the hundreds of specimens I examined.

From A Year in the Fields by Burroughs, John

A maple had broken into bloom and leaf; a chestnut was unfolding his gummy buds; the cottage gardens were full of squills and hepatica; and the mezereons were all thick with damask buds.

From The Thread of Gold by Benson, Arthur Christopher