Licorice Bedstraw
Galium circaezans
Native to Virginia. 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 95 Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 147 animals.
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern Saw-whet OwlAegolius acadicus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
Who uses this plant?
12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Galium
- Apantesis phylliraPhyllira Tiger Moth
- Apantesis virgoVirgin Tiger Moth
- Costaconvexa centrostrigariaBent-Lined Carpet
- Epirrhoe alternataWhite-Banded Toothed Carpet, Striped Carpet
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Lobocleta ossulariaDrab Brown Wave
- Orthonama obstipataThe Gem
- Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Stenoporpia polygrammariaFaded Grey
Show all 12
- Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
- 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
8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Galium
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Coturnicops noveboracensisYellow Rail
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. 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
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
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- 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

























