228 LEGUMINOS.E 



and the limited and practically exhausted fields of Spain are the 

 causes of its deterioration. Russia, with its new and almost unlim- 

 . ited fields, furnishes roots rich in glycyrrhizin and extractive, much 

 better suited for commercial purposes because better and cheaper 

 than the Spanish root. Anatolian root ranks between the Spanish 

 and Russian in the quality of sweetness. In commerce no attention 

 is paid to the botanical varieties of licorice root. From the root 

 alone it is quite impossible to determine its true botanical origin, the 

 usual designation being from the countries of growth, as Spanish, 

 Russian, Anatolian, etc., although all varieties except the Spanish 

 are often classified as "Greek root." Peeled root may now be pre- 

 pared in Russia, but Syria formerly prepared it for shipment to 

 Europe, some of which found its way into the market as "peeled 

 Russian." 



E 



FIG. 121. Glycyrrhiza Cross-section of root. (13 diam.) A, Cork. B, Parenchyma of cortex 

 C, Medullary ray. D, Xylem. E, Medulla. F, Water tube. (Photomicrograph.) 



DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. Long, cylindrical pieces from 5 to 25 mm. 

 (^ to i in.) in diameter; externally dark-brown, longitudinally 

 wrinkled ; internally of a light-yellow color ; pliable, fibrous, tough, 

 readily tearing into long, fibrous strips. Odor peculiar, earthy, 

 taste sweetish, afterward acrid. A cross-section shows a rather 

 thick bark, the inner layer of which is composed principally of bast 

 fibers. The meditulliumis made up of three kinds of cells, ligneous, 

 with oblique ends, parenchymatous, almost cubical, and large pitted 

 ducts giving to the wood a porous appearance. Wood-wedges nar- 

 row, separated by distinct medullary rays. 



Glycyrrhizal glabra glandulifera, so-called Russian, is thicker, less 

 sweet, and more acrid than G. glabra typica (Spanish). 



