Hepatica americana roundleaf hepatica

Synonyms: Anemone americana, Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa

Perennial early spring wildflower, with lavender-purplish or white blooms that arise on hairy stems. Leaves have three rounded lobes, are covered with hairs, and stay green through the winter. Blunt-lobed hepatica may be confused with the sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba). Unlike sharp-lobed hepatica, blunt-lobed hepatica has rounded lobes of leaves and is usually found on drier sites in more acidic soil. The bracts also tend to be more rounded than those of the sharp-lobed hepatica, although this may not always be a reliable characteristic.

Habitat & Range

Grows in the woodlands.

Present throughout the state.

Wetland code: Not classified

Phenology

Flowers mid to late March through April; leaves open once flowers bloom.

Characteristics

Flowers single, at the end of pubescent leafless peduncle (stalk); 5 to 12 petal-like sepals; 3 large, green hairy bracts behind the flower.

Leaves on hairy stalks, with 3 rounded lobes of about the same size; start to open when flowers bloom; light green turning darker at the end of the season and persisting throughout the winter and withering away when the plant blooms again in the next season.