licorice
    n 1: deep-rooted coarse-textured plant native to the
         Mediterranean region having blue flowers and pinnately
         compound leaves; widely cultivated in Europe for its long
         thick sweet roots [syn: licorice, liquorice,
         Glycyrrhiza glabra]
    2: a black candy flavored with the dried root of the licorice
       plant [syn: licorice, liquorice]

Licorice \Lic"o*rice\ (l[i^]k"[-o]*r[i^]s), n. [OE. licoris,
   through old French, fr. L. liquiritia, corrupted fr.
   glycyrrhiza, Gr. glyky`rriza; glyky`s sweet + "ri`za root.
   Cf. Glycerin, Glycyrrhiza, Wort.] [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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The inspissated juice of licorice root, used as a
      confection and for medicinal purposes.
      [1913 Webster]

   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 circ[ae]zans
          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).
          [1913 Webster]