Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Wild Licorice
Glycyrrhiza lepidota
  
About Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant American Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) is a species of Glycyrrhiza native to most of North America, from central Canada south through the United States to California, Texas and Virginia, but absent from the southeastern states. It is also sometimes known in the United States as "wild licorice", to distinguish it from the related European Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) which is occasionally cultivated. The plant grows in moist soils; although it will grow in heavy soil it prefers sandy soil. It grows to 40-100 centimeter (16-40 inches) tall, and has long tough brown roots which are said to be sweet and were used as food and for medicinal purposes by Native Americans. American Licorice is not sweet from sugar but from glycyrrhizin, the acid ammonium salt of the tri-basic acid, glycyrrhizic acid. Glycyrrhizin may increase blood pressure (aka hypertension) by interfering with cortisol conversion.

This plant slowly spreads by rhizome to form large patches. Bumblebees are attracted to the flowers, and this plant is a host for several butterfly plant. Wild licorice is a rare in native plant gardens, but has lots of value for wildlife, does great in heavy soils, and is tolerant of both shade and full sun. It grows well with other riparian forest species like Leymus triticoides and Carex barbarae.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Size
Size
1.3 - 4 ft tall

Form
Form
Spreading, Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Flower Color
Flower Color
White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed , 2 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Nurseries
Nurseries

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers loamy or clay soils. Grows poorly in sandy soils.

Common uses
Common uses
Bee Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Butterfly Host Plants

Propagation
Propagation?
Germinates readily from seed. Seed must be removed from barbed seed-pods first. Pre-soaking and hot water treatment appears to improve germination.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Moist, open places, disturbed places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.5" - 52.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.13" - 2.75", Coldest Month: 24.3" - 53.4", Hottest Month: 42.6" - 82.7", Humidity: 0.71" - 35.30", Elevation: 3" - 11144"

Alternative Names
Common Names: American Licorice, Lichorice


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In