Glycyrrhiza glabra - Liquorice

Glycyrrhiza glabra literally means "sweet root". This large perennial liquorice, better known for its roots than for the plant itself, forms beautiful and decorative clumps, especially in summer, when it is adorned with slender elegant clusters, adorned with light blue to blue-violet pea-like flowers. Its robust rootstock with trailing roots extends over time and forms new stems with large, highly dissected leaves resembling those of acacia each year. It should be given a place in a large, slightly wild sunny border, on the edge of a light woodland, and, of course, in the back of the vegetable garden.

It belongs to the large Fabaceae family. It is a cousin of wisteria, clovers, and peas. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and Central Asia. This medicinal plant, cultivated for a very long time, is known by different names: sweet wood, sweet root, or even sweet licorice.

This is an herbaceous plant with a woody rootstock, perennial by its trailing rhizome. It can be slow to establish. It ultimately forms a bushy clump that can reach a height of 1.5m (5ft) and a minimum span of 1m (3ft), if the location suits it. It bears large compound leaves, 7 to 15cm (3 to 6in) long, divided into 9 to 17 dark green leaflets. They are slightly sticky on their lower surface due to the presence of resin glands. It blooms in summer, more or less early depending on the climate, in the form of small papilionaceous blue-mauve to violet flowers gathered in short clusters in the axils of the leaves. This flowering is followed by the formation of flat pods containing 2 to 4 small brown seeds. Fresh seeds easily germinate in light soil.

Although hardy to -12 to -15°C (10.4 to 5°F), it has retained its Mediterranean origins and prefers warm climates and long summers. It thrives in full sun and in rich, deep, fairly moist but well-drained soil. It spreads underground with very long roots, each segment of which can give rise to a new plant, so plant it in isolation. Gardeners who love the officinal galeca, baptisia, and cytisus will appreciate this plant in a slightly wild border. You can plant it with shrubs and perennials of different sizes, shapes, and colours to create a tableau that mixes wildness and sophistication: oleanders, California poppies, miscanthus, Datura meteloides, gauras, and shrubby salvias, interspersed with small Sipa, for example. In addition to being aesthetic, this legume is a useful medicinal and aromatic plant.

In cooking, pieces of the root flavour desserts, Chinese soups, and even hot milk through infusion. In decoction, liquorice helps with difficult digestion and stomach aches. Chew it in stick form for a touch of nostalgia!