Roundlobe Hepatica is one of our earliest blooming wildflowers along Arboretum trails. Look for it in early March along the lower portions of the Cemetery Ridge Trail and somewhat later along the Oak-Hickory Trail. The flower emerges from the decomposing forest leaf litter as a bright spot of blue or white. The showy sepals (it has no petals) are subtended by green bracts. Its leaves are intermingled with the brown leaf litter and are often difficult to see. The leaf color varies from faded green to purple - the ones present now developed during the previous season and have allowed the plants to photosynthesize during the winter months. New leaves are formed after blooming.

Two species of Hepatica are found in our area. The 3 lobes of Roundlobe Hepatica are relatively shallow and rounded at the tips, while leaves of Sharplobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) are more deeply lobed and have acutely pointed tips. The genus name Hepatica is based on the resemblance of the leaf to the liver. Hepatica has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes - in the late 1800s, more than 400,000 pounds of dried leaves were used in one year to make a tonic for liver ailments.

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