hepatica noun. [hɪ'patɪkǝ, hɛ-] Pl. -cas, (in sense 1) -cae [-ki:]. LME.
[medieval Latin (sc. herba) plant with liver-shaped parts or used for liver diseases, use as noun of fem. of Latin hepaticus: see HEPATIC.]
1. = LIVERWORT 1. Orig., (a herbalist's name for) the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. LME.

2. Any of several spring-flowering European and N. American woodland plants of the genus Hepatica, allied to the anemone, with three-lobed leaves thought to resemble the liver. L16.

■ hepati'cologist noun a person who studies liverworts L19.

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