Hepatica nobilis Schreb. var. obtusa (Pursh) Steyerm.

Round-lobed hepatica, hepatica, liverleaf

About plant names...

Round-lobed hepatica is widespread in North America, a native plant. There is also a sharp-lobed variety, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta. These are inconspicuous until you start looking for them. I'll be hiking along and notice a single, lavendar-colored blossom, poking up through the leaf litter a couple of inches, often with no visible leaves or any other evidence that there is a whole plant in there somewhere. At other times of the year, I occasionally notice a couple of small leaves, flush with the ground. Took awhile to put them together. Once I did, I started noticing them a lot more often, among the first flowers in the spring.

Identification: Leaves are basal, just above (or even below) the leaf litter. They are evergreen, heart-shaped at the base, with three rounded lobes, vaguely resembling a liver, hence the common name. They turn splotchy and then deep red in the winter. In early spring, fuzzy stems 4-6" (10-15 cm) high each support a delicate white, pink, blue, or lavendar flower. Each flower is ½-1" (1.3-2.5 cm) around, with 5-20 sepals (usually six). Behind each flower are three oval-shaped large hairy bracts.

Online References:

The U.S. Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers site

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Minnesota Wildflowers

4/29/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4 × 3½" (10 × 9.1 cm)

4/29/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 2½ × 3" (7.3 × 8 cm)

4/29/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 7 × 6" (17 × 14 cm)

4/29/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 2½ × 2½" (7 × 7.3 cm)

4/22/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 3 × 3" (8 × 8.3 cm)

4/29/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 2½ × 3" (7 × 7.8 cm)

5/15/1979 · Virginia · By Tim Chandler

4/16/2016 · Jason’s Cutoff/Nichols Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

5/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

4/22/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 10 cm)

7/29/2023 · Selkirk, New York · By John W. Kent

Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 7 Sep 2023.

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8/12/2023 · Highlands Trail via Pismire Bluffs Trail, Raymond Community Forest, Raymond, Maine
≈ 10 × 8" (24 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

8/14/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Old Long Loop, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 7 × 6" (18 × 16 cm)

4/22/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 3½ × 2½" (8.7 × 7.2 cm)

9/17/2014 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 4½" (11 × 12 cm)

4/22/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 2 × 1¾" (5.2 × 4.7 cm)

4/22/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 2½ × 2½" (6.3 × 7.2 cm)

4/22/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 5" (11 × 12 cm)

5/14/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 5 × 6" (12 × 14 cm)

4/29/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 3 × 2½" (7.8 × 6.6 cm)

4/16/2016 · Jason’s Cutoff/Nichols Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm)

4/29/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 2½ × 2½" (6.5 × 6.9 cm)

Range: Zones 5-8:

About this map...