Liverwort?

I have found a huge shady patch of gerden covered in what I think is Liverwort, horrid stuff.

We have a local land owner gone absolutely crazy on hedging, on his house side the hedge is beech, on the road side hawthorn, between the two is Prunus, and just for good measure there are bits of Cotoniaster, Ribes and rugosa rose. All container grown large plants extremely close together.

Back to the Liverwort, the whole roadside which used to be verge is now Liverwort, could it have been imported from these hundreds of nursery grown plants? I am sure this is where all my garden problem has come from.

 

I havnt got a clue!! where it came from like you say it is possible its from a nursery..are you positive its liverwort? as i have a picture of liverwort in my herb book and it looks really nice with lovely pink flowers on it..does yours flower? as the only way you can identify a wildflower is when it flowers as a lot of them are similar..I havnt ever seen any liverwort myself ..according to my book they flower early spring!!also you are going to hate this but in my book it says they make delightfull plants for containers!!! sorry...

 

What do the leaves smell of? rub them between your fingers and see if they release a smell..

 

I get this small ancient plant on containers, and some compacted areas, recognise the ruffled sort of leaf. Its not a huge problem, scrapes off quite easily - and if the soil is disturbed, and not allowed to compact will not recurr. Hasn't caused me any problems in garden or containers - except if left, keeps the moisture from the roots.

 

waco...sorry i was looking at the plant on the right..thats typical of me i have dizzy moments!it looks a nightmare especially if its not wanted...you can never tell where they come from realy i have things that the birds have planted ..and as i have fields at the rear i get gluts of things appearing ..this year i am over run with dandelions and chickweed..and cleavers..next year it will be some thing else..its probably one of the moss liverworts..as its not as attractive as the one i was looking at..sorry once again!!

 

Liverwort will only grow where it is wet - on compacted soil, stone or paving. Turn the soil over to break up the pan and let in some air. Not sure what you are referring to, Wildflower -liverworts with pink flowers?? Do you mean lungworts aka pulmonaria?

 

hornbeam ..no i know what lungwort looks like as i have some..i meant HEPATICA NOBILIS...hepatica is greek for liver.and this plant is sometimes called liverwort ..kidney wort or liverleaf..this plant is an ancient remedy for liver complaints..this is what i thought waco meant...allthough i never looked down at the flowers in the centre of the photo for some reason i was drawn to the right of the picture..it must have been all that green leafy attracting me..

 

Ah - I see. Never heard it called liverwort before, but it makes sense. Hepatitis is inflamation of the liver and so Hepatica nobilis is the cure. My little black book knows it as American Liverwort etc. Interesting entry in Mrs Grieve's Modern Herbal.

 

Thanks all, I am sure I am on the right lines now in my garden, but the hedge bottoms look awfull full of the stuff and I am sure will stop the grass growing. I may be have to drop a hint to the boys that look after the grounds.

Wildflower, interesting about Hepatica Nobilis. I will try to get a close up for the record.