Ground-ivy
Glechoma hederacea
Found in lawns, gardens, forests, disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- Plant height varies from about 2 to 24 inches [31,44,51,87,102].
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Plant this instead
Choose your county to list local plants first.
- Intermediate Wood-fernDryopteris intermedia
Similar growth form, evergreen or deciduous, soil moisture
No recorded swaps for this county. Try the garden finder.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- March to June
- Fruiting season
- May to July
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 35 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 137 animals.
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Cerulean WarblerDendroica cerulea
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- American CootFulica americana
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Glechoma
- Xanthotype urticariaFalse Crocus Geometer
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimGrowing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Blue or purple
- Fruit begins
- May
- Fruit ends
- July
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late March to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Blue or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “Plant height varies from about 2 to 24 inches (5-60 cm) [31,44,51,87,102].” · Fire Effects Information System: Glechoma hederacea (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs) · Source botanical description; original units and scope retained
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Creeping Charlie; Glecoma hederacea; Ground Ivy
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications