Glycyrrhiza

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Glycyrrhiza
Glycyrrhiza glabra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Galegeae Genus: Glycyrrhiza
Species
Glycyrrhiza acanthocarpa Glycyrrhiza aspera Glycyrrhiza astragalina Glycyrrhiza bucharica Glycyrrhiza echinata Glycyrrhiza eglandulosa Glycyrrhiza foetida Glycyrrhiza foetidissima Glycyrrhiza glabra Glycyrrhiza gontscharovii Glycyrrhiza iconica Glycyrrhiza korshinskyi Glycyrrhiza lepidota Glycyrrhiza pallidiflora Glycyrrhiza squamulosa Glycyrrhiza triphylla Glycyrrhiza uralensis Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis
Ref: ILDIS Version 10.01

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, 甘草; lit. "sweet grass" or "sweet herb") are also cultivated, the latter being important in traditional Chinese medicine.