Liverwort, or hepatica
Liverleaf; Hepatica, from Greek hēpar, “liver”
- Known today as
- Hepatica nobilis (syn. Anemone hepatica). An early-spring woodland flower with three-lobed, liver-shaped evergreen leaves.
- Kind
- Plant
- Constituents
- protoanemonin, hepatrilobin, tannins, and 1 more
- Poisoning
- Buttercup blistering
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Liverwort, or hepatica: what was it used for?
The leaves brewed as a tea for complaints of the liver and digestion, and for the skin, by European herbalists and, independently, by Native peoples including the Iroquois.
Liverwort, or hepatica: what does modern science say?
No controlled evidence supports its traditional use for the liver.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- protoanemoninreleased from ranunculin when the fresh plant is bruised
- hepatrilobina glycoside
- tannins
- flavonoids
- Mechanism
- A buttercup relative: the fresh leaf releases protoanemonin, a blistering irritant, which the dried herb loses; the dried tea is a mild astringent. Its liver reputation is the signature of its three-lobed leaf and nothing more.
- Toxic dose
- The fresh plant blisters the mouth and gut; the dried herb is harmless at tea doses.
- Syndrome
- Buttercup blistering
- Standing
- No monograph; a plant of the doctrine of signatures.
- Frohne, D., and Pfänder, H. J. (2005). Poisonous Plants, 2nd ed., “Ranunculaceae.” Book, not indexed
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Liverwort, or hepatica: what lore surrounds it?
Its Latin name comes straight from the Greek hēpar, “liver,” the doctrine of signatures reading its three-lobed leaf as nature’s own label for what it was meant to cure, a belief strong enough to survive in its English names, liverleaf and liverwort, long after the theory behind it was abandoned.
In Their Own Words
Mrs Grieve calls hepatica a mild remedy for disorders of the liver and indigestion, also used for coughs, bleeding of the lungs and diseases of the chest.
“It is a mild remedy in disorders of the liver, indigestion, etc., and possessing pectoral properties it is employed in coughs, bleeding of the lungs and diseases of the chest generally.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Liverwort, American, Liverwort, American (Anemone hepatica), Medicinal Action and Uses. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
She derives the name of the genus from the Greek for 'affecting the liver' or 'the liver', from a likeness in its appearance to that organ.
“The name of the genus may be derived from epatikos (affecting the liver) or from epar (the liver), from a likeness in its appearance to that organ.”
Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Liverwort, American, Liverwort, American, Description. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Sources
- Forest Gems, “The Natural History and Lore of Hepatica.” Book, not indexed
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the fifty-entry sample
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 2 cited: 2 book, not indexed.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 27, 2026
- Chicago
“Liverwort, or hepatica.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 27, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/liverwort-hepatica.
- MLA
“Liverwort, or hepatica.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 27 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/liverwort-hepatica. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Liverwort, or hepatica. (2026, September 27). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/liverwort-hepatica
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See Also
Poisoned alike: buttercup blistering
Sharing protoanemonin, tannins, flavonoids
Helleborus niger · Botrychium lunaria · Sempervivum tectorum · Cynoglossum officinale · Euphrasia officinalis · Buphthalmum salicifolium · Oxalis acetosella
Drawing on the same sources: Frohne
Nearby in the alphabet
Livid pinkgill (of broadleaf woods) · Litharge (a byproduct of refining silver) · Lodestone (naturally magnetic iron ore) · Lion’s mane (A single clump of hanging spines on hardwood trees) · Long pepper (The catkin-like fruit of Piper longum) · Licorice (The root of Glycyrrhiza glabra) · Lourdes water · Letters from Heaven
Historical description, not medical advice.