Glycyrrhiza is a genus of about 20 accepted species of perennial herbs and subshrubs in the legume family Fabaceae (order Fabales). The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution spanning Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas, with its greatest diversity in central and western Asia.
Members of the genus are deep-rooted, pinnate-leaved perennials, typically growing to around 1 metre in height. Flowers are small and pea-like, ranging from purple to pale whitish blue, borne in loose racemes, and the fruit is an oblong pod. The roots are often stoloniferous and contain a characteristic suite of bioactive compounds — triterpenoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and flavonoids — the most notable of which is glycyrrhizin, a glycoside responsible for the pronounced sweetness (30–50 times that of sugar) associated with liquorice root.
The genus is best known for Glycyrrhiza glabra (common liquorice or licorice), native to Eurasia and North Africa, from which most commercial liquorice flavouring is extracted. G. uralensis (Chinese liquorice, gancao) is a cornerstone herb of traditional Chinese medicine, while G. lepidota (American licorice) is native to North America. The genus was formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753), with the name derived from the Greek glykyrrhiza, meaning 'sweet root'.
Etymology
The name Glycyrrhiza derives from the Greek γλυκύρριζα (glykyrrhiza), meaning 'sweet root' — a direct reference to the intensely sweet rhizomes of G. glabra, whose principal glycoside, glycyrrhizin, is 30–50 times sweeter than sugar. The common name liquorice (UK) or licorice (US) reached English via Anglo-French lycorys and Late Latin liquiritia, the same Greek root.
Distribution
Glycyrrhiza has a subcosmopolitan distribution, with species native to Asia (from the Mediterranean east through central Asia to China), southern Europe, North Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The type species G. glabra is native to West and Tropical Asia, North Africa, and southern Europe; G. uralensis is widespread in East Asia; and G. lepidota is the sole New World representative, native to North America.
Cultivation
G. glabra is the primary cultivated species and thrives in well-drained, deep soils in full sun, particularly in warm, continental climates. It is typically harvested in autumn, two to three years after planting once the root system is well established. Major producing countries include Turkey, Greece, Iran, and Iraq.
Cultural Uses
The roots of Glycyrrhiza species have been used across many cultures for millennia. G. glabra root extract is a major flavouring agent in confectionery, beverages, tobacco products, and pharmaceutical preparations. G. uralensis (gancao) is one of the most frequently prescribed herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is said to 'harmonise' the other ingredients in a formula. Both species appear in European herbal tradition; the European Medicines Agency has added liquorice to its list of recognised herbal medicines.
