Glycyrrhiza lepidota Pursh
wild licorice (American licorice)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
wild licorice (American licorice)
Fabaceae (Pea family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from extensive, deep, woody, aromatic, sweetish rhizomes; stems sticky with unstalked glands, erect, 0.3-1 m tall.
Leaves:
Alternate, odd-pinnately compound; leaflets 7 to 19, oblong-lanceolate, narrowed to abruptly pointed tip, 2-5 cm long, glandular-dotted; stipules lanceolate, membranous, 3-10 mm long, deciduous.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a dense, spike-like, stalked, erect, axillary raceme of numerous pea-like flowers, the raceme-stalks 2-7 cm long, shorter than the subtending leaves; corollas yellowish-white, 10-15 mm long; calyces 5-8 mm long, with stalked glands, the teeth awl-shaped.
Fruits:
Pods, oblong-ellipsoid, reddish-brown, 1-2 cm long, densely prickled with hooked bristles, bur-like, 1-chambered; seeds 2 to 5, large, 2-4 mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Glycyrrhiza lepidota
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1172 | 1170 | 1175 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
3 | 2 | 5 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
180 | 180 | 180 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 3 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
2 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
IDF(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet fields, streambanks and open forests in the steppe and lower montane zones; rare in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; E to ON and S to MN, MT, MO, TX, AZ and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Glycerrhiza lepidota var. lepidota
Glycyrrhiza glutinosa Nutt.
Glycyrrhiza lepidota var. glutinosa (Nutt.) S. Watson