Complex sentence: Ellen returned home to Ballylickey, living with and caring for her now elderly mother and a disabled brother, and spending any free time she had in the study of plants, particularly mosses, liverworts, lichen, and seaweeds.
Split into simpler sentences: Ellen returned home to Ballylickey, living with and caring for her mother and a disabled brother. However, she also studied plants, particularly mosses, liverworts, lichen, and seaweeds.