Hepatica nobilis var. acuta Sharp-Lobed hepatica Plants
(hep-AT-ih-kuh   no-BIL-iss)

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Sharp-lobed Hepatica nobilis var. acuta flower picture 

For other native wild flowers visit the wildflower seed list or potted plants list, to order copy the orderform or email questions, comments, and orders to john@easywildflowers.com 
 
 Sharp-lobed Hepatica nobilis Potted plants will be available this spring, $5 each plus UPS shipping.  Please contact us by email with your address & zip code for shipping costs on potted plants.

Hepatica (hep-AT-ih-kuh)  From hepar (liver); referring to its supposed curative properties
nobilis (no-BIL-iss)  Notable, showy

     Sharp-lobed Hepatica makes a nice addition to the shade or woodland wildflower garden and sometimes is cultivated as a rock garden plant.  Hepatica grows wild in upland deciduous woodlands, rocky bluffs, the slopes of bluffs, and partially shaded limestone cliffs. Sharp-Lobed Hepatica occurs in high quality wooded areas where the native flora is intact. 

   Sharp-lobed Hepatica grows in well-drained, loamy soil and  prefers dappled sunlight during the spring and light to moderate shade during summer. The basal leaves should be left undisturbed during the winter. The soil can contain some rocky material and a thin-layer of mulch or decaying leaves will be beneficial.

     Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Sharp Lobed Hepatica plants have basal leaves up to 3 inches long with three sharply pointed lobes. (A closely related plant, Round-lobed hepatica has rounded lobes)  Leaves are evergreen through winter and may be poisonous in large doses

     One of the first flowers of spring, Hepatica flowers are delicately attractive and with their pretty leaves are difficult to resist.  Flowers are one inch across with 6 (sometimes 5-11) petal-like sepals, a green cluster of carpels in its center, and numerous white stamens surrounding the carpels.  Sepals are white, pastel pink, or pastel blue and oblong-oval in shape. At the base of each flower, there are 3 leafy bracts that are lanceolate, ovate, or oval in shape. These bracts are reddish green or reddish brown, hairy across the outer surface, and shorter than the sepals.  A colony of plants will begin blooming early to mid-spring and lasts about 2-3 weeks. Flower stalks are about 3-4" long, hairy and often reddish green or reddish brown.  Each has a solitary flower with blooms first appearing in early spring and into late spring. 

    Hepatica nobilis, Sharp Lobed Hepatica flowers are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and pollinated by Bees, flies, beetles, Moths & Butterflies.  Native Americans used hepatica medicinally in the treatment of abdominal pains, poor digestion, and constipation, as a wash for "twisted mouth or crossed eyes," and as a gynecological aid.

     This showy native perennial wildflower grows 3 to 6 inches tall with showy flowers on slender stems and basal leaves that develops during the late spring and persists through the winter. Leaves are up to 3" long and across and grow on slender petioles up to 6" long. Leaves are palmately divided into 3 pointed lobes.  The leafs upper surface is smooth and usually more green during the summer becoming reddish brown during the winter but can be green, brownish green, reddish brown, or contain patches of these colors. In Hepatica nobilis var. acuta the leaf margins are smooth with pointed tips on the lobes of mature leaves.  (Hepatica nobilis var. obtuse has rounded lobes).  
     Mature plants have a tuft of flowers on long stalks during early to mid-spring, by which time the Basal leaves may persist through the winter but often become withered by late winter/early spring when the flowers appear.  Each flower is on a reddish green or reddish brown naked hairy stalk about 3-4" long. Flowers are up to one inch across and may be erect or nod on their stalks.  Fowers are white, pastel pink, or pastel blue with numerous white stamens and three lance shaped leafy bracts that are reddish green or reddish brown, hairy across the outer surface, and shorter than the sepals. Individual flowers begin blooming in early to mid-spring with blooms lasting 2 to 3 weeks for a colony of plants; however, individual flowers are short-lived. Hepatica plants have a small cluster of fibrous roots and spreads by reseeding itself.

Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa (Hepatica americana, Anemone americana)

• Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)
• Habitat: rocky woods
• Height: 4-6 inches
• Flower size: 3/4 inch across
• Flower color: white, blue, or pink
• Flowering time: March to May
• Origin: native 

Hepatica nobilis var. acuta and Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa, the two North American species are closely allied to the Eurasian Anemone hepatica.

Seeds exhibit morpho- physiological dormancy. Pre-Planting Treatments: Seeds are warm and cold stratified and germinate at 15/6 C.
 Family Scientific Name: Ranunculaceae
Family Common Name: Buttercup family
Scientific Name: Hepatica acutilobaDC.
Common Synonym: Hepatica nobilis var. acuta
Common Name: Lobed leaf hepatica Species Code: HEPACU General Distribution: H. acutiloba is found within temperate deciduous forests of North America.
Synonyms:
Hepatica nobilis var. acuta
Anemone acutiloba
Hepatica acuta
Hepatica acutiloba
Hepatica triloba var. acuta

      Sharp-lobed Hepatica seed should be planted in a moist soil in a shady position. The stored seed requires stratification for about 3 weeks at 0 - 5°c. Germination takes 1 - 12 months at 10°c.  Seed germination will be most successful when planted as soon as it is ripe in the woodland garden or a shady position in a cold frame. When started in a cold frame small seedlings can be moved to individual pots when large enough to handle and grown on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants can be divided just as the leafless plant comes into flower in late winter/early spring and replanted into their permanent positions.

The map below shows areas where native wildflowers grow wild but they can be planted and will grow over a much wider area than shown.  USDA plant hardiness zones 3 to 9.

Hepatica nobilis seeds are not available at this time

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The minimum seed order amount is $10, this can be a combination of different seeds.

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Sharp lobed Hepatica nobilis var. acuta plant distribution map complements of USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
  (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Round-lobed Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa

This Area
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

: This native perennial plant is about 3-6" tall. It consists of a tuft of basal leaves that develops during the late spring and persists through the winter. These leaves are up to 3" long and across; they have slender petioles up to 6" long. Each leaf is palmately divided into 3 lobes; the lobes are oval-ovate and approximately the same size. The smooth upper surface of each leaf can be green, brownish green, reddish brown, or contain patches of the preceding colors; usually, the upper surface is more green during the summer, but become reddish brown during the winter. The leaf margins are smooth; for var. acuta, the tips of the lobes are rather pointed in mature leaves.

A mature plant will produce a tuft of flowers on long stalks during early to mid-spring, by which time the basal leaves that persisted during the winter may have withered away. Each flower occurs on a naked hairy stalk about 3-4" long; this stalk is often reddish green or reddish brown. The flower may be erect or it may nod on its stalk. Each flower is up to 1" across, consisting of 5-11 petal-like sepals, a green cluster of carpels in its center, and numerous white stamens surrounding the carpels. The sepals are white, pastel pink, or pastel blue; each sepal is oblong-oval in shape. At the base of each flower, there are 3 leafy bracts that are lanceolate, ovate, or oval in shape. These bracts are reddish green or reddish brown, hairy across the outer surface, and shorter than the sepals. The blooming period occurs during early to mid-spring and lasts about 2-3 weeks for a colony of plants; however, individual flowers are short-lived. The carpels turn brown and become beaked achenes that are often pubescent. The root system consists of a tuft of fibrous roots. This plant spreads by reseeding itself.

The preference is dappled sunlight during the spring and light shade during the summer. The basal leaves should be left undisturbed during the winter. The soil should be well-drained, loamy, and can contain some rocky material, including pieces of limestone; a thin-layer of decaying leaves is also beneficial.

Sharp-Lobed Hepatica is occasional in wooded areas. Habitats include upland deciduous woodlands, rocky bluffs, the slopes of bluffs, and limestone cliffs (where some shade occurs). Sharp-Lobed Hepatica occurs in high quality wooded areas where the original flora is largely intact. Sometimes it is cultivated as a rock garden plant. While Sharp-Lobed Hepatica is native to North America, the typical variety of Hepatica, Hepatica nobilis nobilis, occurs in Eurasia.

Small bees collect pollen from the flowers, while Syrphid flies and other flies feed on the pollen. Bee visitors include honeybees, Small Carpenter bees, Andrenid bees, and Halictid bees. Nectar is not provided by the flowers. Chipmunks reportedly eat the achenes. The brownish green basal leaves are poisonous and somewhat camoflaged; it seems unlikely that they are eaten by mammalian herbivores to any significant extent.

 The flowers of Sharp-Lobed Hepatica bloom earlier than most spring-blooming wildflowers of woodlands. They are delicately attractive and have a tendency to blow about on their slender stems in the wind. Another native variety of this plant species is Hepatica nobilis obtusa (Round-Lobed Hepatica), which has a very similar appearance, except that the lobes of its basal leaves are well-rounded rather than pointed.  Sometimes these two varieties intergrade where their ranges overlap. Some authorities refer to Sharp-Lobed Hepatica as Hepatica acutiloba, while Round-Lobed Hepatica is referred to as Hepatica americana. Another common name for Hepatica is Liverleaf, which refers to the appearance and shape of the leaves.