Glycyrrhiza lepidota Pursh
General: aromatic, glandular plant, 30-120 cm tall.
erect perennial from deep, extensive, woody
leafy, sticky with stalked or stalkless glands.
Leaves: alternate, with 11-19 lance-shaped leaflets, 2-4
cm long, entire, glandular-dotted under magnification,
abruptly sharp-pointed. Stipules small, linear, membranous,
Flowers: yellowish-white, 10-15 mm long, numerous in
dense, long-stalked, bracted, clusters from leaf axils.
Banner only slightly reflexed from the narrow wings and the
sharp-pointed keel. Calyx with 5 teeth, awl-shaped, the
upper two partially fused.
Flowering time: May-August.
Fruits: pod brown, 10-15 mm long, stalkless, 1-celled,
few-seeded, staying closed, covered with hooked bristles.
Varieties: var. glutinosa and var. lepidota, see below.
Disturbed and low ground, especially common along
streams, in all parts of MT. Also from B.C. to Ontario and
MN, s. to CA, AZ, AR, TX and n. Mexico.
Edible and Medicinal plant: see below.
(click on image for full size)
(click on images for full size)
The roots of wild licorice can be eaten, raw or cooked. They are long, sweet and fleshy, and when slow
roasted are said to taste like sweet potatoes. The were used for food by the Montana and Northwest Indians.
They can be used as a flavoring in other foods as well and can also be chewed raw as a masticatory, making
an excellent tooth cleaner and also very good for teething children. The root contains 6% glycyrrhizin,
a substance that is 50 times sweeter than sugar. The tender young shoots can be eaten raw in the spring,
and were used for food by the Cheyenne Indians.
Blackfoot Indians used wild licorice leaves to make poultices for earaches. All parts of the plant are
medicinal, but the roots are the most active part. Roots were used for toothache, fever and to strengthen
the voice for singing by the Keres and Bannock Indians. A tea of the root was used to speed the delivery
of the placenta after childbirth, it was also used to treat coughs, diarrhea, chest pains, fevers in children,
stomach aches etc. It was also used as a wash or poultice on swellings.The Pawnee Indians used a poultice
of steeped leaves applied to ears for earache. They also made a decoction of the root as a febrifuge for
children with fevers. The Lakota Indians used the roots and Canadian milk vetch roots used for spitting
of blood, and they chewed the roots as a remedy for the flu, and for toothache. The Cheyenne Indians used
an infusion of roots or leaves taken for diarrhea.
Clinically wild licorice is useful against gastric and duodenal ulcers, bronchial asthma and is an additive
in cough syrups. Wild licorice can increase blood pressure as well. Glycyrrhizin, the sweet tasting compound
is the acid ammonium salt of nitrogenous tri-basic acid, called glycyrrhizic acid. The potassium acid
salt of this acid is very sweet. The free acid, prepared from the lead salt, forms a brown, gelatinous
mass soluble in hot water and has a bittersweet taste and acid reaction. The root of wild licorice contains
up to 6% Glycyrrhizin. Licorice can induce a hypermineralocorticoid syndrome. Current literature usually
refers to the effects of sweets containing glycyrrhizin, but little is known about the consequences of
prolonged intake of "pure" licorice.
var. glutinosa (Nutt. ) Wats:
Plant with stalked glands throughout the flower clusters and often also on the leaf stalks and main stem. Only in s. and w. MT.
Plant with stalked glands only on the calyx. The most common in MT.
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