Lic·o·rice n. [Written also liquorice.]
1. Bot. A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza (Glycyrrhiza glabra), the root of which abounds with a sweet juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions.
2. The inspissated juice of licorice root, used as a confection and for medicinal purposes.
Licorice fern Bot., a name of several kinds of polypody which have rootstocks of a sweetish flavor.
Licorice sugar. Chem. See Glycyrrhizin.
Licorice weed Bot., the tropical plant Scapania dulcis.
Mountain licorice Bot., a kind of clover (Trifolium alpinum), found in the Alps. It has large purplish flowers and a sweetish perennial rootstock.
Wild licorice. Bot. (a) The North American perennial herb Glycyrrhiza lepidota. (b) Certain broad-leaved cleavers (Galium circæzans and Galium lanceolatum). (c) The leguminous climber Abrus precatorius, whose scarlet and black seeds are called black-eyed Susans. Its roots are used as a substitute for those of true licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).
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Galium lanceolatum
n : bedstraw with sweetish roots [syn: wild licorice]