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]

	

	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]