Notes on Hepatica acutiloba

Anemone acutiloba (DC.) Laws (Flora of N. America)

IN REVISION WORK ….April 6, 2018

April begins here with a joke, weather wise – we are expecting snow (2016)! Thus, it is a good moment to gather and publish my notes on Hepatica acutiloba (Sharp-lobed hepatica) before it gets busy.The seeds are also starting to germinate, so it cannot be too long till flowering begins.
Funny, today on April 6, 2018 when I’m working revising this, it snowed :)

Hepatica acutiloba is easily distinguished from the only other N American species, H. americana, by having the leaf lobes acute or acuminate, with the middle lobe 70-90% of total blade length; involucral bracts +/- acute (FNA). Sometimes when the lobes are acute it’s a bit more difficult to distinguish it; when in doubt, see the footnote about how to measure the leaves (1).

It is usually found in deciduous beech-maple forests (oaks & other species possible), on rich soils; rarely in mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. In comparison to H. americana, it is usually found in locations that tend to be slightly wet, at least temporarily. Therefore for cultivation it is a better choice if someone really wants to grow a Hepatica in a moist location.
This may be the reason why in the wild it is not often to find  the 2 species growing together.

The new foliage can be reddish- bronze when emerging, but not always; villous in various degrees (with long, soft hairs). I would grow this species even if just for the foliage, which besides the flowers, constitutes its most notable ornamental quality.

About  fragrance

I read about this for the first time in the excellent article published in AGS Journal (vol. 83 No.3) by Michael Meyers; he writes “some plants have a strong fragrance”. After sniffing every H. acutiloba I encountered in the last years, I can say is true that some forms of H. acutiloba are fragrant; some more than others, some not at all.

A while ago there were 5 recognized forms for H. acutiloba (2). From a taxonomic point of view they are obsolete nowadays, but I think from an ornamental point of view they are important and could be used in breeding since the progeny resulted from seed propagation is uniform. Therefore, the seeds will be offered marked as such.

Flora of NA states that the regular form of Hepatica acutiloba is blue flowered (H. acutiloba fo. acutiloba).

Hepatica acutiloba blue flowers

However, it seems though that at least in Southwestern Ontario, the white flowered form is predominant for H. acutiloba.

Hepatica acutiloba fo. albiflora Ralph Hoffm. – the leaves can be variable and the flowers white; it is usually quite vigorous in habit. Notice in the gallery second image how large the involucral bracts are – they seem to be green ‘flowers’.
The picture with fruits belongs to the form offered as: H. acutiloba – white/ fragrant, being the most fragrant form from all; the flowers actually have a sheer pink overlay when newly opened.

Hepatica acutiloba – white/fragrant

Hepatica acutiloba fo. rosea Ralph Hoffm. – has pink flowers in various shades, and the leaves can exhibit very nice veined markings.

I don’t know if specimens with pink blushed flowers should be included in fo. rosea but I like them very much. Some are light-pink, others have white flowers with just a dab of pink mixed in. Probably an acquired taste…

Hepatica acutiloba fo. diversiloba Raymond – leaves with 5-7 lobes instead of the usual 3, hence the name. The character is not always consistent and often on the same plant both 3-lobed and 5-7-lobed leaves are present. Young seedlings may not display the character for 1-2 years.

For few years I only saw this form with white flowers. The leaves can also develop beautiful veined markings. In the first image of a cultivated plant, the foliage is interestingly marbled instead of having marked veins.

Then, one nice clump was found with blue flowers. The leaves are in that borderline area between acutiloba/americana (read more about intermediate forms). Also, some of the flowers seem to be sterile, so it may belong one of those intermediate forms.

The last form is Hepatica acutiloba fo. plena Fernald; I know it is somewhere out there in the woods, quietly waiting to be found…

About the intermediate forms between H. americana and H. acutiloba

It is not very often that they are found growing together, but when they are, things became complicated; better said wonderfully complicated.
Quote from Flora of Michigan: “When the two hepaticas do grow together, intermediate leaf shapes are only rarely found, although what they mean has not been fully investigated”.

I only agree with the last part; it hasn’t been investigated and hybrids are not recognized at the moment. As for the statement “intermediate leaf shapes are only rarely found” – well, anyone spending more time in the woods would disagree with it.

I will include here the form offered last year as Hepatica acutiloba – lavender. The leaves are borderline between acutiloba/americana; however, they tend more towards the first one so it is offered as such.

Hepatica acutiloba- lavender

 (1) For the ID of H. acutiloba using measurements of the leaves follow this guideline:  “Proportions given in the key for the middle lobe of the leaf are calculated by measuring the lobe (from the apex to a line connecting the bases of the sinuses on each side) and the total length of the blade (apex to the summit of the unexpanded petiole). In the case of ambiguous measurements, check more than one leaf on a plant” – Flora of Michigan.

 (2) Tropicos – see references for the publications of the H. acutiloba forms.

Typical leaves of Hepatica acutiloba

 Named varieties

The time has come to name few of the selected forms I have, even if just for the easiness of keeping records.
I may also decide to share few divisions at some point, so they need to have a name of their own.

H. acutiloba ‘Rabbit’s foot’

I have this Hepatica for a very long time, don’t even remember the provenience. I grew it in a pot many years; now in the ground it seems to grow better of course. Last year it struck me that the new growth resemble a rabbit’s foot, so “Rabbit’s foot’ it is.
A typical H. acutiloba with sharped lobed leaves, which emerges very early in the spring with super fuzzy, specific shoots. The new growth is reddish/bronze and the flowers white and somewhat insignificant. The foliage becomes colourful towards the fall and remains like that over the winter in a very specific way. Click to open the gallery.