Wild Licorice, Glycyrrhiza lepidota

About Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) 2 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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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.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

1.3 - 4 ft tall

Form

Upright

Growth Rate

Moderate

Flower Color

White

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed

, 3 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinusStrymon melinus

Melissa Blue Plebejus melissaPlebejus melissa

Marine Blue Leptotes marinaLeptotes marina

Orange Sulphur Colias eurythemeColias eurytheme

Silver-Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarusEpargyreus clarus

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Moderate - High

Nurseries

Carried by 2

Soil Description

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

Common uses

Butterfly Gardens

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

Moist, open places, disturbed places

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

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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

Wild Licorice

Glycyrrhiza lepidota

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Wild LicoriceGlycyrrhiza lepidota

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Wild Licorice

Glycyrrhiza lepidota