Glycyrrhiza

...A perennial herb of the legume family whose roots and stems are called liquorice in traditional Chinese medicine. Two or three species of the genus Glycyrrhiza are used for the same purpose. They are called licorice in English. They grow to several tens of centimeters, sometimes up to 1 meter, with a cylindrical rhizome and a taproot that extends deep underground. The upright above-ground stems are covered with short white hairs or glandular hairs. The leaves are alternate, odd-pinnate compound, with 4 to 8 pairs of leaflets. They flower in June and July, densely packed at the tips of axillary stalks, pale purple, and about 1.5 to 2 cm in size. ...

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Glycyrrhiza" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…根や茎の基部が漢方薬で甘草と呼ばれ重用されるマメ科の多年草。カンゾウ属Glycyrrhizaの2,3種が同じ用途に利用される。これらを英名でlicoriceという。高さ数十cm，ときには1mになり，根茎は円柱状で，それにつづく主根は深く土中にのびる。直立する地上茎には白色の短毛や腺毛がある。葉は互生，奇数羽状複葉で4～8対の小葉がある。花は6～7月，腋生（えきせい）した花梗の先端に密集してつき淡紫色，1.5～2cmほど。…

※「Glycyrrhiza」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報