Licorice Bedstraw
Galium circaezans
Native to West 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 17 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 144 animals.
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Northern ParulaParula americana
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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 11
- Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
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
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- West Virginia 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

























