Word Study
hepatica
CIDE DICTIONARY
hepatica, n. [NL. See Hepatic. So called in allusion to the shape of the lobed leaves or fronds.].
- A genus of pretty spring flowers closely related to Anemone; squirrel cup. [1913 Webster]
- Any plant, usually procumbent and mosslike, of the cryptogamous class
Hepaticæ ; -- called alsoscale moss andliverwort . See Hepaticæ, in the Supplement. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
hepatica, n. any plant of the genus Hepatica, with reddish-brown lobed leaves resembling the liver.
Etymology
med.L fem. of hepaticus: see HEPATIC
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