Liverwort (Hepatica americana)The early spring eastern woodland wildflower, “Hepatica,” has quite distinctive three-lobed leaves. Since this three-lobed arrangement was seen as similar to the human liver, medieval herbalists gave this plant group the name “hepatica”, which is Greek for “liver.” (In English, we have other words with the same root, referring to the liver, such as hepatitis.) The common name thus became “Liverwort”, since “wort” simply means plant or root. This is a good example of not only common name derivation but also an example of a major plant naming source called the “Doctrine of Signatures”, originated during the middle ages. Early physicians tried to decide which plants could help cure certain ailments, and they believed that the “signature”—some shape of plant’s parts—could suggest the body part the plant would “cure.” Needless to say, this system of medical prescription was not only wildly incorrect, it was extememly dangerous as well. But many plant names from that time and that concept survive.(http://www.wildflowerinformation)
