Licorice Bedstraw
Galium circaezans
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 42 Arkansas counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 85 animals.
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Bewick's WrenThryomanes bewickii
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
Widespread birds also seen here (59)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Galium
- Apantesis phylliraPhyllira Tiger Moth
- Costaconvexa centrostrigariaBent-Lined Carpet
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Lobocleta ossulariaDrab Brown Wave
- Nathalis ioleDainty Sulphur, Dwarf Yellow
- Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Stenoporpia polygrammariaFaded Grey
- Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
3BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Galium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
5BirdsRecorded eating Galium in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Common Ground-dove8 diet records
- Mourning Dove6 diet records
- Wild Turkey4 diet records
- American CootSeeds. 2 diet records
- Hermit ThrushFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Galium 5
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American CootFulica americana
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
Plant details
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–8
- Flower color
- Green
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Hardiness · “Zones 4–8” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “1–2 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Part shade” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- primary_flower_color · “green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry to medium” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- 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





























