Glycyrrhiza

Encyclopedia : G : GL : GLY : Glycyrrhiza

Glycyrrhiza is a genus of about 18 accepted species in the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae), with a subcosmopolitan distribution in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas.

The genus is best known for liquorice (British English; licorice in American English), which is the product of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a species native to the Mediterranean region. Very little Glycyrrhiza glabra is grown in North America, but American Licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota is a common native species there.

Russian Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza echinata) and Chinese Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis, also known as gāncǎo, ; lit. "sweet grass" or "sweet herb") are also cultivated, the latter being important in traditional Chinese medicine.

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