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Liverworts are non-vascular plants in the Class Marchantiopsida, formerly known as the Hepaticae. They are colloquially called hepatics. The Division Bryophyta consists of liverworts together with mosses and hornworts.
Most liverworts consist of a prostrate, flattened, branching structure called a thallus (plant body). These liverworts are termed thallose liverworts. Other liverworts produce flattened stems with overlapping scales and are called leafy liverworts or scale liverworts.
Ancient beliefs included that liverworts cured diseases of the liver, hence the name. An unrelated flowering plant, Hepatica, is sometimes mistakenly called a liverwort, due to the similarity with the common name, "hepatics".
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