[syn: hepatica, Marchantia polymorpha]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hepatica \He*pat"i*ca\, n.; pl. Hepatic[ae]. [NL. See
Hepatic. So called in allusion to the shape of the lobed
leaves or fronds.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Bot.) A genus of pretty spring flowers closely related to
Anemone; squirrel cup.
[1913 Webster]
2. (bot.) Any plant, usually procumbent and mosslike, of the
cryptogamous class Hepatic[ae]; -- called also scale
moss and liverwort. See Hepatic[ae], in the
Supplement.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hepatica
n 1: any of several plants of the genus Hepatica having three-
lobed leaves and white or pinkish flowers in early spring;
of moist and mossy subalpine woodland areas of north
temperate regions [syn: hepatica, liverleaf]
2: a common liverwort [syn: hepatica, Marchantia polymorpha]