Glycyrrhiza

(glis-sir-riz ah.) [Gr., a sweet root.] (Bot.) A genus of plants, O. Fabacea. The best-known species is G. glabra, which reputedly furnishes the Spanish Liquorice. It is an herbaceous perennial, with pinnate leaves and bluish flowers, and is cultivated for the sake of its root, which contains a peculiar sugar like substance, giving to the extract its flavor and slight demulcent property. Its extract, evaporated till it becomes of a proper consistence, is largely imported from Spain and Italy, in rolls 5 or 6 inches long, packed in the leaves of the sweet bay. [s. 412]