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Glycyrrhiza lepidota Pursh  

Explore 3 occurrences

Family: Fabaceae
American licorice
[Glycyrrhiza glutinosa Nutt.]
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Patrick Alexander
  • Gleason & Cronquist
  • Field Guide
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Vascular plants of NE US and adjacent Canada
Colonial by creeping roots; stems to 1 m, the younger parts and the lower side of the lfls dotted with minute glands; lfls 11-19, oblong or lanceolate, those of the main axis 2.5-5 cm, the others smaller and narrower; racemes erect, dense, shorter than the subtending lvs; fls pale yellow, 12-15 mm; fr 1.5 cm, brown, densely beset with hooked prickles; 2n=16. Moist prairies; Minn. to Alta. and Wash., s. to Ark., Tex., and Calif. and intr. in disturbed sites farther east. May, June. Our native plant, var. lepidota, has minutely pubescent stems; the far-western var. glutinosa (Nutt.) S. Watson, with the stem stipitate-glandular, is adventive in Va.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Springer et al. 2008, Heil et al. 2013
Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Aromatic perennial herbs, 30-120 cm tall, from stout, deep-seated roots; stems erect, simple or branched; herbage pubescent with basifixed hairs and sessile or stalked glands, often sticky to the touch. Leaves: Alternate and pinnately compound, 8-18 cm long, with 9-19 leaflets per leaf; leaflets 2-5 cm long, narrowly ovate, oblong, elliptic, or lanceolate, with pointed tips and entire margins; lower leaflet surfaces glandular-punctate; stipules lance-acuminate, 3-10 mm long. Flowers: White to cream-colored, in loose, terminal and axillary racemes up to 20 cm long; each flower subtended by an ovate- lanceolate, pubescent bract, up to 6 mm long; flowers about 1 cm long, with pea-flower morphology (papilionaceous); calyx bilabiate, the upper lip two-cleft, puberulent; corolla white, cream, or purplish-pink. Fruits: Pods ovate or oblong-linear, 1-2 cm long and 4-6 mm wide, covered with stout, erect, hooked bristles. Ecology: Found on streambanks, riverbanks, and roadsides, in coniferous forests and meadows, from 2,000-7,000 ft (762-2134 m); flowers June-September. Distribution: Throughout central and western N. Amer., from CAN to MEX Notes: This rhizomatous perennial herb resembles an exceptionally large Astragalus with spiny, cocklebur-like seed pods. Look for it along stream banks. It has good soil-stabilizing capabilities and may be used in restoration plantings and for erosion control. It is a host plant for gray hairstreak, marine blue, Reakirt's blue, Melissa blue, and silverspotted skipper butterflies. Ethnobotany: The Navajo use a concoction of the root as a laxative; Hopi use the root as a breath freshener. Etymology: Glycyrrhiza translates to sweet root; lepidota means covered with small scales, alluding to the glands on the leaves which appear as small scales when the leaves are young. Synonyms: Glycyrrhiza glutinosa, Glycyrrhiza lepidota var. glutinosa Editor: AHazelton 2017
Glycyrrhiza lepidota
Open Interactive Map
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Patrick Alexander
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Patrick Alexander
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Patrick Alexander
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Paul Rothrock
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Paul Rothrock
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Paul Rothrock
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Paul Rothrock
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
Glycyrrhiza lepidota image
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