A small, non-vascular plant that lacks true roots, stems, and leaves, instead having a flat, lobed body called a thallus. Liverworts are among the earliest land plants and reproduce using spores.
From Old English 'lifer' (liver) and 'wyrt' (plant), named because the lobed shape resembled a liver. Medieval herbalists believed this resemblance meant the plant could cure liver ailments, following the 'doctrine of signatures.'
Liverworts are living time capsules that show us what the first land plants looked like 400 million years ago! They're so primitive they lack the waxy coating most plants have, which means they can only survive in constantly moist environments like tiny green carpets in the forest.
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