ABSTRACT
Glycyrrhiza are perennial subshrubs or herbs with alternate pinnate leaves and whitish-violet or, rarely, yellow flowers. Glycyrrhiza glabra occurs in dry open areas, grassy plains, and wild deserts where the soil is alkaline and salty, mainly in the Mediterranean region. The roots, which are cylindrical and branching, are used. Stems growing beneath the ground can reach 1.8 m or more from the main plant, and they send forth shoots creating secondary plants after two years. The cultivated plant is harvested for its root after four years of growth. With removal of the bark, the root is used in the manufacture of licorice and in this form is regarded in China as being of superior quality. In China, G. uralensis Fischer et D.C. is the main species used medicinally, although the root of G. glabra is widely used and cultivated today. With the exception of Scandinavia, G. glabra is cultivated and naturalized in most European countries and northwest China (Foster and Chongxi, 1992).
