Plant of the Month: Hepatica, or Liverleaf

Hepatica americana (Photo Credit: Dan Whitten)

by Dan Whitten

I always like to introduce a plant by giving its name, location, and description, and then tell other stories like how it got its name or how it is useful.

The common names of two similar plants in SC are Sharp-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) and Round-lobed Hepatica (Hepatica americana). The name “Hepatica” can be interchanged with the name “Liverleaf” (not to be confused with “Liverwort,” which is a spore producing vascular plant). Liverleaf is a seed-producing, herbaceous plant of the forest floor.

The scientific names have been changed a couple of times in Weakley’s Flora of the Southeastern United States. On May 21, 2015, the genus for both species changed from Hepatica to Anemone. Then on October 20, 2020, it changed back to the genus Hepatica. Thankfully, it remained the same in the latest edition of April 24, 2022. Interestingly, though, the 2022 version of A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina by McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, and White categorized it as the genus Anemone. (This book was featured in the September 2022 statewide SCNPS program and is a fantastic reference for flower enthusiasts.)

Of the two species of Hepatica occurring in South Carolina, the Sharp-lobed is the less common and occurs over calcareous or mafic rock, typically found in the mountainous part of the state. The Round-lobed is more common, with a wider geographic distribution. The differences between the two are in the tips of the lobes of the basal leaves, which are either sharp or rounded (hence the common names). In the bracts which are directly below the petaloid sepals, they are sharp tipped in the H. acutiloba and round tipped in the H. americana.  

Impress your (granted, thoroughly nerdy) friends by asking a trick question: How many petals does Hepatica have? Answer: none! They have instead 5-12 (typically around 7) petaloid sepals which are born on hairy pedicels and subtended by 3 bracts that mimic the sepals.

The petaloid sepals can be white, blue, lavender or purple. The basal leaves persist throughout the winter, and generally the new leaves come out well after the flowers in the spring. The flowers of the upstate reach peak bloom in March, but they can also be found at Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve as early as February and up near the Blue Ridge Parkway as late as April. At Station Cove Falls, I’ve seen a few plants flowering on the first day of the year, and once I saw a flower on Christmas Eve. So I challenge you to find a native and herbaceous wildflower that blooms any earlier in the year than Hepatica.

According to the Doctrine of Signatures, a plant was used to treat the part of the body that it resembled, and because the lobes of the brownish leaf of Hepatica in winter resembled the liver (aka the hepatic organ) in color and shape, it was used to treat everything from cowardice to freckles, including jaundice and other ailments believed to be of the liver.

George Hyams was collecting Hepatica in May of 1877 when he discovered the then long-lost plant that we now know as Oconee Bells, or Shortia galacifolia.

Upstate Fall Plant Sale Continues

Upstate Fall Native Plant Sale

Photo courtesy of The Greenhouse Gang October 1-22. 2022 at the Upstate Native Nursery

October 1 – 22, 2022

The annual Upstate Native Plant Society Fall sale is underway.

How to Order

The plant list is posted on scnps.org and a link is below.  Orders can be sent  directly to Kathy Harrington at [email protected].   Payments can be made by credit card and the orders will be placed into a holding area at the UNN for contact-less pickup.

Reservations for an onsite/buying visit to the Upstate Native Nursery during the sale will be accepted and scheduled depending on volunteer availability.  We welcome both members and non-members of the SC Native Plant Society.  Please contact Kathy Harrington directly at [email protected]or at 864-310-1144 to set up a date and time.

Special Shopping Days for SCNPS Members

As we have done before, SCNPS members have first dibs on these great plants on the first three days of the sale (10-1, 10-3, and 10-4), but there are plenty left for non-members to order to still order.  You must be a paid up member by 9-30-22 to qualify for the member shopping days.

Lists of plants available to purchase can be downloaded here:

Excel version

Adobe Acrobat version 

Remember, Fall is the best time to plant!

Upstate Spring Native Plant Sale

 

Upstate Spring Native Plant Sale

April 2 @ 8:30 am – 1:00 pm   Conestee Park, 840 Mauldin Road, Greenville

NATIVE PLANT SALE

The sale is a large, in-person style again this Spring at Conestee Park, 840 Mauldin Road in Greenville. The date is Saturday, April 2nd from 8:30am to 1pm. Early admission at 8:30am is for members only with the general public admitted at 9am. Knowledgeable advisors will be on the sale floor to assist customers with plant selection.

The sale includes a wide selection of native shrubs, trees, perennial wildflowers, ferns, vines, and grasses. Cash, credit, and checks accepted. Visit the website, www.scnps.org, in March for updated information and a list of plants available.

Guest Vendors and special exhibits

Guest plant vendors include Carolina Wild, Jeff Miller – Carnivorous plants, Earthen Organics, and Saturnia Farm. Educational exhibits will also be on site, including beekeepers, soil enhancements, books on Native plants and an exotic invasive species public service booth.

Volunteers Needed

Many volunteers are needed to run the sale.  We will train you on the various jobs from moving plants, assisting customers, writing up invoices, holding plants while customers continue to shop, and loading plants into vehicles.  Click on the volunteer form below to see all the ways and times you can help make the sale a success.

To sign up to volunteer, click here!

 

To download a flyer to share with friends and neighbors, click here!

 

 

 

Upstate Spring Native Plant Sale

Upstate Spring Native Plant Sale

April 2 @ 8:30 am – 1:00 pm

NATIVE PLANT SALE

The sale is a large, in-person style again this Spring at Conestee Park, 840 Mauldin Road in Greenville. The date is Saturday, April 2nd from 8:30am to 1pm. Early admission at 8:30am is for members only with the general public admitted at 9am. Knowledgeable advisors will be on the sale floor to assist customers with plant selection.

The sale includes a wide selection of native shrubs, trees, perennial wildflowers, ferns, vines, and grasses. Cash, credit, and checks accepted. Visit the website, www.scnps.org, in March for updated information and a list of plants available.

Guest plant vendors and educational exhibits will also be on site, including beekeepers, soil enhancements, books on Native plants and an exotic invasive species public service booth.

Volunteers are needed to work at the sale on both April 1 and April 2.  Contact Kathy Harrington: [email protected]

 

Save The Date: Upstate Fall Native Plant Sale

Upstate Fall Native Plant Sale 2021
September 18 @ 8:00 am – October 16 @ 5:00 pm

We know from all of the inquiries you’ve sent that interest is running very high for a Fall Native Plant Sale. So (drum roll!), without further ado, we’re announcing the SCNPS Fall Plant sale! These are the important dates to remember:

· September 17th: Volunteer Appreciation Day. Volunteers working the sale get to shop first!

· September 18, 20-23rd: SCNPS members only. Orders open online on the 17th (to be pulled on or after the 18th) and members will be notified when orders can be picked up.

· September 24th-October 16th: Open to all. Orders open online on the 23rd (to bepulled on or after the 24th) and customers will be notified when orders can be picked up.

As you can see, the first day, when all the plants are at their best with the deepest inventory, is set aside for the plant sale volunteers only. This is a new incentive to tempt members to come out and volunteer to work two or more shifts at the sale. Shifts are 4 hours long and training is provided. All you need is a smart phone and a desire to save the Earth one plant at a time.

 

The benefits of fall planting are many:

· Roots, roots, roots! When it comes to a plant’s health, it’s all about the roots. Fall planting gives a plant, tree or shrub plenty of time to develop their root system before the first frost.

· Free watering! One of the best benefits of fall planting is the cool, rainy days for your newly planted beauties.

· Less stress for both you and your new plants. Fall’s cool air provides a nice buffer from the summer heat and it’s easier to plant in cooler air.

· Warm soil. The soil will be warmer in the fall than in the spring. The tops may be getting ready to snooze but the roots will get set up to go through the winter and will come up in the spring ready to go.

So, please mark your calendars and join us for another wonderful Native Plant Society sale at the Upstate Native Nursery. Appointments will be available for on site visits. This will still be a virtual sale with contactless pickup as in the last two sales. You must be a member by September 11th, 2021 in order to qualify for the members only period. Questions? Contact Kathy Harrington at [email protected] or send us an email from the SCNPS website (go to the dropdown menu The Plants) or send to [email protected].

We hope to see orders from all of you. The volunteers have worked very hard all summer to keep the plants in tiptop shape for the Fall sale. Many hours of propagation, germination, potting, pruning, weeding, mowing, maintaining and brainstorming have gone on to make this the best sale ever!

Click here to see all of the plant sale details.

Bradford Pear to be banned in South Carolina!

South Carolina will become only the second state in the United States to ban the sale of Bradford pear trees and any other pear trees grown on the commonly used Pyrus calleryana rootstock.

The ban on sales of Pyrus calleryana — or Callery pear — and three species of Elaeagnus will begin Oct. 1, 2024.

Bradford pears were once touted as sterile, but it turns out that if pollen from any other Pyrus species gets into Bradford pear flowers, the trees can make viable seeds. Those seeds are then eaten by birds and other animals and spread across the Southeastern landscape, contributing directly to one of the worst invasive plant species in the region — the Callery pear.

 

Bradfore pear

Callery pears are an aggressive invasive species with stems and branches possessing large thorns. They can spread by seed or root sprouts and can quickly take over a roadside, old field, pasture, vacant lot, or forest understory.

Does this mean that homeowners have to cut down a Bradford pear tree or remove the Elaeagnus shrub growing on their property? No, but they are encouraged to do so. In fact, Clemson University runs an annual program where residents can obtain a free, native replacement tree in exchange for cutting down their Bradford pear tree. For more details, see the Clemson Bradford Pear Bounty program.

 

The noxious weed shrub Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) has sadly been promoted for “wildlife plantings”.

 

One of the South’s most overplanted trees, per The Southern Living Garden Book.

“I think the impacts of it as it gets out into the natural landscape are pretty evident,” said David Coyle, assistant professor of Forest Health and Invasive Species at Clemson. “Frankly, there are a lot better things that people could put in their yards; there are a lot of good natives they should probably plant instead.”

Not only do Callery pears have nasty thorns that can damage everything from tractor tires to livestock, but they also damage the ecosystem by crowding out native plants while providing little to no food for insects.

The ban on these plants will make them illegal to sell or trade within South Carolina. “There are several ways to attack the problem, and one of those ways is to just stop it from being sold,” Coyle said. “As part of Clemson Extension’s Bradford Pear Bounty program, we’re trying to teach consumers that there are better things to plant and, essentially, teach them not to buy those non-native species. But you can’t reach everyone that way, so we’re trying to come at it from another way and just make it illegal to sell them.”

 

Noxious weeds are weeds that have been designated by an agricultural or other governing authorities as a plant that is injurious to crops, ecosystems, humans or livestock. To read the full news release, visit Clemson News: Invasive Bradford pear, 3 other species to be banned for sale in SC.

To learn about South Carolina’s other listed species, browse the State Plant Pest List.

Field trips to South Carolina prairies

 

October 20 and 21, 2017

In celebration of South Carolina’s Native Plant Week (Oct 16 – 20) the Midlands and Piedmont Chapters of the SC Native Plant Society are hosting field trips to some uniquely interesting natural native plant communities in our area.

South Carolina has a lot of natural diversity for a state of our size, and two of the most interesting sites are the Post Oak Savanna and the Blackjack Oak Savanna.

The Post Oak Savanna is a 50-acre spot in the Long Cane District of the Sumter National Forest. It is located on shallow stony soils in what geologists call the Carolina Slate Belt. These soils restrict rooting depth, so trees on this site are mainly short-statured hardwoods like post oak (Quercus stellata). Larger trees occasionally establish, but with shallow roots, they are subject to wind-throw. Thus the tree canopy is thin, allowing native grasses and wildflowers to establish underneath. So in a region of almost complete forest cover, we find short, thinly spaced trees, and lots of native grasses and wildflowers, similar those in Midwestern tall grass prairies.

The SC Dept. of Natural Resources’ Blackjack Oak Savanna is found on the edge of Rock Hill, in an area of basic rock geology. These basic rocks break down into high calcium, high magnesium soils with near neutral pH. These soils contain a clay type that swells when wet, and shrinks and cracks when dry. This shrinking and swelling is damaging to tree roots. Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica), another short-statured tree, is more tolerant of these conditions than most other trees. Again, short, thinly spaced trees allow maintenance of native grasses and wildflowers. These two sites contain a large number of prairie-type grasses and wildflowers (some quite rare in our State) that persist naturally, and are unique in the largely forested Piedmont of SC.

The Midlands group will lead a trip to the Post Oak Savanna on Friday, Oct. 20. Meet the group at the Walmart Superstore on Bush River Rd, just off I-20 at 9:30, to carpool to the site, arriving about 10:30. Wear long pants and sturdy shoes, and bring water and a snack. There is a half-mile level walk to the site.

On Saturday, October 21 the Piedmont group will lead a trip to the Blackjacks site. The 10:00 meeting spot in Rock Hill is at the Blackjack Oaks Heritage Preserve parking area off Blackmon Rd. There is limited parking, so please carpool.

For detailed directions to the Post Oaks, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/cs/recarea?ss=110812&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=FSE_003738&navid=110240000000000&pnavid=110000000000000&position=generalinfo&recid=47217&ttype=recarea&pname=Post%20Oak%20Savanna

For detailed directions to the Rock Hill Blackjacks, go to https://www.sctrails.net/trails/trail/rock-hill-blackjacks-heritage-preserve

For further information on the Post Oaks trip, contact Marigold Wilson (ma[email protected]) or Bill McCullough ([email protected]).

For further information on the Blackjack Oaks trip, contact Mitzi Stewart ([email protected]).

Upstate Native Plant Sale, April 22

The Native Plant Society Upstate Spring Native Plant Sale is just 10 days away on Saturday, April 22.
The sale runs from 9am to 1pm at Conestee Park, 840 Mauldin Road in Greenville.  There is a good selection of native trees, shrubs, perennial wildflowers, ferns, and vines, and a few grasses.

On the SCNPS website you can now find a list of the plants that will be available.  Go to www.scnps.org.  Click on Activities/calendar.  The go to April 22 and click on the sale.  There you will find all the details about the sale including a link to the inventory list.  Here is a link to take you directly to the page:    https://scnps.org/event/upstate-native-plant-sale-2017.  Check out the inventory and make a list of plants you want for YOUR property.  This list does NOT include what our guest vendors will have.

Seven guest vendors will be on hand with their plants and plant products.  They are Carnivorous Plants  (Jeff Miller), Carolina Wild (Greg and Christina Bruner), Earthen organics (Kristen Beigay), Natives, By George (Betsy George), Natives Plus Nursery (Richard Davis), Natures Organics (David Senn), and Wildside Garden (Joe Townsend).

There will be advisors on hand to help you select plants.  We will also have a table of wonderful books about native plants and gardening with them.   Dr. Jan Haldeman will be there to discuss the issues of exotic invasive plants and to show samples.  Check, cash and credit cards are accepted.

Conestee Park is just a three minute drive south from the Mauldin Road exit from I-85.  It is near the old Braves Stadium.