Common name:	Liverworts belong to a group of plants known as bryophytes, which are generally green, generally small, and are among the simplest land plants (some are aquatic). The name "hepatic" derives from the Anglo-Saxon word "lifer", which means liver, and "wyrt", the word for plant. During the 16th century, it was commonly applied to the genus Marchantia, a flat, branched and ribbon-shaped plant whose margins resembled the lobes of a liver.
Botanical name:	Bryophytes include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. There are around 25,000 different species of bryophytes.
Family:	Hepaticea (liver)
Origin:	Liverworts have been found in fossils dating back to the Paleozoic Era. They are believed to have shared a common ancestry with green algae. There are approximately 8,500 species of liverworts. They are widely distributed, from the Arctic to the tropics. Although some grow in relatively dry places and some are submerged aquatic, most liverworts occur in places where moisture is generally available, for example, on wet soils or wet rotting logs, along shady stream banks, on rocks in streams or wet rock outcrops; some even grow low saline terms
Description:	Liverworts lack some of the complex structures seen in other types of plants: they do not produce flowers or seeds, and most have no internal means of transporting water or nutrients. There are two general types of liverwort, separated according to their general structure: leafy liverworts and talose liverworts. Linden gametophytes are flat, membranous shapes with uniform, slightly wavy, lobed, or leafy margins. There is great diversity in the shape of the liverwort leaves; they can be undivided, lobed or divided into hair-as segments, or can be folded into two lobes of unequal size with the smallest lobe above or below the largest.

Applications:	Ecologically, bryophytes play an important role in maintaining an ecosystem. humidity level for its ability to absorb and retain water. Environmentally, they are often used as indicators of habitat condition. Any change in the quality of water, soil and / or air, due to contamination or other factors, will have an impact on the growth of bryophytes.
Allergens:	Only liverworts with leaves, or Jungermaniales, appear to be sensitizing. Liverworts grow on tree bark, such as chestnuts, acacia, poplar, beech, and oak. Therefore, contact is most commonly seen in forest workers and gardeners. The main allergic species of liverwort are Frullania dilatata and Frullania tamarisci, which are known to contain various sesquiterpene lactones.
Allergy:	Forest workers can develop allergic contact dermatitis or air contact dermatitis, and photosensitivity. Occasional reports from vasculitis.
Cross reactions:	Laurel, other compound plants. There are several reports of cross sensitivity with Lichens spp, but these can represent simultaneous sensitization since lichens and liverworts coexist in the same environments.
Other information:	From the Doctrine of Signatures, a popular concept at the time, it proclaimed that God had given each plant that had created a mark or sign that pointed to its medicinal value; The Marchantia liver, with its imagined liver-shaped lobes, was believed to be useful in the treatment of liver ailments.
Patch test:	Sesquiterpenic lactone mixture, compound mixture, liver species specific.