liverwort
Meanings
noun
- A type of bryophyte with a leafy stem or leafless thallus characterized by a dominant gametophyte stage and a lack of stomata on the sporophyte stage of the life cycle.
- A common flowering perennial herb of northern woodlands, Hepatica nobilis (syn. Anemone hepatica), used in traditional European herbal medicine.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English lyverwort, liverwort, from Old English liferwyrt, equivalent to liver + wort, from the belief that some species looked like livers and were useful for treating the liver medicinally.
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