Liverworts are those plants within the class Marchantiopsida. They are also known as hepatics. The division Bryophyta consists of liverworts together with mosses.

Generally, most liverworts grow prostrate, consisting of a flattened, branching green structure (known as the thallus). Some liverworts produce leafy stems, which are also flattened. Ancient citizens believed that liverworts cured diseases of the liver, hence the name. The unrelated flowering plant Hepatica is sometimes mistakenly called a liverwort, due to the similarity with the alternative name of liverworts: hepatics.