SimplePlant

Fabaceae

Licorice

Glycyrrhiza glabra L.

Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Glycyrrhiza

Pets and kids

  • CatsNot sure
  • DogsNot sure
  • KidsToxic
Why

Cats: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for cats, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Dogs: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for dogs, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Kids: Toxic

Toxic to young children (moderate). Toxic principle: glycyrrhizin (glycyrrhizic acid).

Signs: headache, edema, muscle cramps, dark urine, heart arrhythmia.

Licorice: Glycyrrhiza glabra growing in the greenhouse of the Deutsches Institut für tropische und subtropische Landwirtschaft, Witzenhausen, Germany
Photo: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Is Licorice safe for cats, dogs and kids?

Is Licorice safe for cats?

We found no reliable source on this plant for cats, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Is Licorice safe for dogs?

We found no reliable source on this plant for dogs, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with your vet.

Is Licorice safe for kids?

No. Our sources call Licorice toxic to young children (moderate). Toxic principle: glycyrrhizin (glycyrrhizic acid). Signs: headache, edema, muscle cramps, dark urine, heart arrhythmia.

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.

Common names

By language (105)
aeb
عرب السوس, عرق السوس, عود السوس
Afrikaans
Soethout
Arabic
عرقسوس, رب السوس, سوس مخزني, عرق السوس, عرق سوس, عرقسوس أجرد
Armenian
Քաղցրարմատ
arz
عرقسوس
Assamese
যষ্টিমধু
Asturian
Regalicia
azb
شیرین بیان
Azerbaijani
Şirinbiyan
ba
Татлы тамыр
Bangla
যষ্টিমধু
bar
Bärndreck
Basque
Erregaliz
Belarusian
Саладкакорань гладкі, Салодкая гразь
bo
ཤིང་མངར།
Bosnian
Sladić
Bulgarian
Женско биле
Burmese
နွယ်ချို
Cantonese
洋甘草
Catalan
Regalèssia
Central Kurdish
مێکووک, بەلەک
Chinese
光果甘草, 山小橘, 欧亚甘草, 欧甘草, 洋甘草, 洋甘草（光果甘草）, 甘草, 甘草头
Croatian
Slatki korijen
Czech
Lékořice lysá
Danish
Glat Lakrids
Divehi
ވޭމުއި
Dutch
Zoethout
English
Licorice, Liquorice, Cultivated licorice
Esperanto
Vera glicirizo
Estonian
Lagritsa-magusjuur
Filipino
Likorisa
Finnish
Lakritsikasvi
French
Réglisse
frr
Swetholt
Galician
Regalicia
Georgian
Ძირტკბილა
German
Echtes Süßholz
grc
Γλυκύρριζα
Greek
Γλυκόριζα
gsw
Lakritze
Gujarati
જેઠીમધ
Hebrew
שוש קירח
Hindi
यष्टिमधु
hsb
Słódnik
Hungarian
Igazi édesgyökér, Cukorkóró, Édesfa
Icelandic
Lakkrísrót
Indonesian
Akar manis
io
Regoliso
Irish
Liocras
Italian
Liquerizia, Liquirizia, Regolizia
Japanese
スペインカンゾウ, リコリス
Javanese
Oyod legi
kaa
Boyan
kab
Asɣaṛ aẓiḍan
Kannada
ಅತಿಮಧುರ, ಜೇಷ್ಠಮಧು
Kazakh
Қызылмия
Korean
민감초
ks
شَنٛگٕر
Kurdish
Sûs
Kyrgyz
Кызыл мыя
lah
ملٹھی
Latvian
Lakrica
Lithuanian
Paprastasis saldymedis
Luxembourgish
Séissholz
Macedonian
Сладок корен, Сладунец
mad
Kaju manis cèna
Maithili
मुलेठी
Malagasy
Likôrisa
Malay
Akar manis
Malayalam
ഇരട്ടിമധുരം
Marathi
ज्येष्ठमध
Nepali
जेठी मधु
Norwegian Bokmål
Lakrisplante
Occitan
Regalícia
os
Хуыфæджы хос
Persian
شیرینبیان
Polish
Lukrecja gładka
Portuguese
Alcaçuz
Punjabi
ਮੁਲ੍ਹਠੀ, ਮੁਲਹਠੀ
Romanian
Lemn dulce
Russian
Лакрица, Лакричник, Солодка гладкая, Солодка голая
Sanskrit
यष्टी
sco
Alicreesh
Serbian
Сладић
Serbian (Latin)
Sladić
shn
ၶိူဝ်းဝၢၼ်, တူၼ်ႈၶိူဝ်းဝၢၼ်
Sindhi
مٺي ڪاٺي, مليٺي
Slovak
Sladovka hladkoplodá
Slovenian
Golostebelni sladki koren, Lakrica, Likviricija, Sladič, Sladka korenica, Sladka koreninica, Sladki koren, Sladki les
Spanish
Regaliz
Swedish
Lakritsrot
Tajik
Ширинбия, Буя, Сус, Ширинбех, Ширинмия
Tamil
அதிமதுரம், அட்டி, அதிங்கம், மதுகம்
tcy
ಜೇಷ್ಠಮಧು
Telugu
అతిమధురము
Thai
ชะเอมเทศ
Turkish
Meyan
Ukrainian
Локриця
Urdu
ملٹھی
Uzbek
Qizilmiya
vec
Sugorisia
vls
Kalissie
Welsh
Gwylys
wuu
光果甘草
zza
Sus

Synonyms

  • Glycyrrhiza alalensis X.Y.Li
  • Glycyrrhiza alaschanica Grankina
  • Glycyrrhiza brachycarpa Boiss.
  • Glycyrrhiza echinata Lepech.
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra subsp. glandulifera (Waldst. & Kit.) Ponert
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. asperula Regel & Herder
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. brachycarpa (Boiss.) Boiss.
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. caduca X.Y.Li
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. echinata Regel & Herder
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. glabra
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. glandulifera (Waldst. & Kit.) Regel & Herder
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. glandulifera (Waldst. & Kit.) Galushko
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. glandulosa X.Y.Li
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. hispidula Regel & Herder
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. laxifoliolata X.Y.Li
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. pubescens Litv.
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. typica L.
  • Glycyrrhiza glabra var. violacea (Boiss.) Boiss.
  • Glycyrrhiza glandulifera Ledeb.
  • Glycyrrhiza glandulifera Waldst. & Kit.
  • Glycyrrhiza glandulifera var. parviflora Ledeb.
  • Glycyrrhiza hirsuta Pall.
  • Glycyrrhiza hirsuta L.
  • Glycyrrhiza hirsuta var. echinata Regel & Herder
  • Glycyrrhiza hirsuta var. glandulifera Regel & Herder
  • Glycyrrhiza laevis Pall.
  • Glycyrrhiza michajloviana Grankina & E.V.Kuzmin
  • Glycyrrhiza nadezhinae Grankina
  • Glycyrrhiza officinalis Lepech.
  • Glycyrrhiza pallida Boiss. & Noë
  • Glycyrrhiza violacea Boiss.
  • Glycyrrhiza vulgaris Gueldenst. ex Ledeb.
  • Liquiritia officinalis Moench
  • Liquiritia officinarum Medik.

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb, Subshrub
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Lower 48 states: introduced

Photos

More in Glycyrrhiza

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.