THE licorice yielding plant is a perennial herb with a thick root-stock, having a number of long sparingly branched roots and very long runners or rhizomes. It belongs to the same family as the peas and beans (LeguminosÆ). It has purplish flowers with the irregular corolla characteristic of the family. The pods are rather small, much compressed, each with from two to five seeds.

The plant is in all probability a native of the warm parts of the Mediterranean region. There are several varieties of G. glabra, all of which are more or less extensively cultivated and placed upon the market.

As to the exact habitat of licorice there is some difference of opinion. According to some authorities its native home is in the vicinity of the sea of Azov. Dioscorides was among the first to give a description of the plant and designated the pontic lands and Kappadonia of Asia Minor as its home. The Romans named the plant Glycyrrhiza. Celsius, Scribonius Largus, and Plinius described it as Radix dulcis, sweet root, on account of its sweet taste. Galenus, the eminent Roman physician, made extensive medicinal use of the roots as well as of the juice. Alexander Trallianus also recommended licorice very highly. Although this plant enjoyed extensive use during the middle ages it was apparently not included in the herbal list of Charlemagne, Karl der Grosse. In the 13th century licorice was highly prized in Switzerland as a remedy for lung troubles. It was similarly used in Wales and in Denmark. Pietro di Crescenzi of Bologna (1305) was the first to give a full report of the occurrence and cultivation of licorice. The Benedictine monks of St. Michaelis cultivated it extensively in the vicinity of Bamberg. The eminent authority, FlÜckiger, reports a peculiar practice by these monks. A new hand in the horticultural work was initiated by requiring him to dig up a complete root of a licorice plant with all its branches including the rhizome. This was by no means an easy task on account of the ramification of the roots and the extreme length of the rhizome.

Glycyrrhiza is extensively cultivated in Greece, Italy, France, Russia, Germany, the Danubian Provinces, southern China, northern Africa, and to some extent in England. In the Italian province of Calabria licorice is planted with peas and corn. In the course of three years the roots are collected, the juice expressed and root evaporated to the proper consistency for shipping. New crops are grown from cuttings of the rhizomes. There is an excellent quality of licorice grown in the vicinity of Smyrna. The principal commercial varieties are grown in Spain, southern Russia, Turkey and Italy. Spanish and Russian licorice root is dried and shipped in bales or bundles. Spanish licorice root is unpeeled and occurs in pieces several feet in length. Russian licorice is usually peeled. Most of the licorice used in the United States is obtained from Italy, Russia, and Germany. Some of the licorice found upon the market is quite fragmentary and very dirty. The licorice raised in England is intended for home consumption and is placed upon the market in both the fresh and dried state. The fresh roots have an earthy and somewhat nauseous odor. The peel, or bark, of the roots contains tannic acid and a resinous oil, both of which are undesirable; hence the peeled article is usually preferred.

Description of Plate.—A, flowering portion of plant; 1, flower; 2, 3, 4, parts of the flower; 5, stamens; 6, stigma; 7, ovary; 8, fruit; 9, one valve of pod with seeds; 10, 11, 12, different views of seed.

The characteristically sweet taste of the licorice roots and rhizomes is due to glycyrrhizin and some sugar. Glycyrrhizin is a glucoside which splits up into glucose, a substance closely akin to sugar, and glycyrretin, a bitter substance. The extract of licorice is prepared by crushing the fresh roots or rhizomes, then boiling repeatedly in water, expressing and then condensing the sap in copper kettles until it is quite hard when cooled. In Calabria the condensed juice, while still warm and pliable, is rolled into sticks and stamped with the name of the locality where it was prepared. In those countries where the fresh roots cannot be obtained the dried roots are crushed and then treated as above. The licorice sticks prepared in this country usually have stamped upon them the initials of the manufacturing firm. Much of the evaporated juice is also placed upon the market in large lumps or masses. The pure licorice extract, prepared as indicated above, is a glossy black, very brittle, with a glassy fracture. For shipment it must be carefully packed to prevent its being broken into small bits. To reduce the brittleness various substances are added as starch and gum arabic.

Licorice extract is a highly appreciated sweetmeat but unfortunately it is often grossly adulterated with dextrin, starch, sugar, and gum arabic. Many of the licorice drops, etc., contain very little licorice, but even the poorest article seems to be highly prized by the average child. Licorice extract in mass is known as licorice paste and is extensively employed in preparing chewing tobacco and in brewing beer, to which substances it imparts a peculiar flavor and a dark color.

Licorice extract is a popular remedy for colds and sore throat, though its curative powers are certainly very slight. Physicians make extensive use of it to disguise the disagreeable taste of medicines, such as quinine. It is an ingredient of many cough remedies. The finely powdered roots are dusted over pills to prevent their adhesion and to give them consistency.

Licorice roots have the same properties as the extract and may be similarly used. Many children prefer the dried roots obtained at the drug store to the stick licorice or the licorice drops. This choice is in many respects a good one; the roots are at least not adulterated, but of course only the juice should be swallowed—a precaution which it is not necessary to emphasize—as the fibrous nature of the wood makes it difficult to swallow. Even if a little of it is swallowed no particular harm would be done, as it is not in the least poisonous, though the fibers may act as an irritant to the stomach.

As already indicated there are several species of Glycyrrhiza of which the roots and rhizomes are used like those of G. glabra, but, in addition to these there are a number of other plants designated as licorice. Indian licorice or the wild licorice of India (Abrus precatorius), is a woody twining plant growing quite abundantly in India; it is sometimes substituted for true licorice. Prickly licorice (Glycyrrhiza echinata) resembles true licorice quite closely. The wild licorice of America (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) is found in the Northwest. Its roots are quite sweet and often used as a substitute for true licorice. The European plant known as "rest harrow" (Ononis spinosa), so-called because its tangled roots impede the progress of the harrow, has roots with an odor and taste resembling licorice. The roots are extensively employed by the country practitioners of France and Germany in the treatment of jaundice, dropsy, gout, rheumatism, toothache, ulcers, and eruptive diseases of the scalp. The name, wild licorice, also applies to Galium circaezans and Galium lanceolatum on account of the sweetish roots. The wild licorice of Australia is Teucrium corymbosum. Licorice vetch (Astragalus glycyphyllus) has sweet roots. Licorice weed (Scoparia dulcis) is a common tropical plant which also has sweet-tasting roots.