Round-lobed Hepatica

Description:

Hepatica americana is a perennial growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in). Bisexual flowers with pink, purple, blue, or white sepals and three green bracts appear singly on hairy stems from late winter to spring. The leaves are basal, leathery, and usually three-lobed, remaining over winter.

Habitat:

Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Florida, Georgia and Missouri. Mixed woods, often in association with both conifers and deciduous trees, usually in drier sites and more acid soils, from sea level to 1200 metres. This one was photographed at the Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve in McCormick County, SC.

Notes:

It's also known as American Liverleaf. Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, most plants in this family are poisonous. This toxicity is usually of a low order and the toxic principle is destroyed by heat or by drying. A tea made from the leaves is laxative. It is used in the treatment of fevers, liver ailments and poor indigestion. At one time it became a cult medicine as a liver tonic and 200,000 kilos of dried Hepatica leaves were used in 1883 alone. Butterflies, moths, bees, flies and beetles are known pollinators.