Licorice: perennial herb; roots and rhizomes thick, 1-3 cm in diameter, brown outer skin, light yellow inner, sweet. Stem erect, much branched, 30-120 cm high, densely covered with scale-like glands, trichome-like glands and white or brown hairs, leaves 5-20 cm long; stipules triangular-lanceolate, about 5 mm long , about 2 mm wide, densely covered with white pubescent on both sides; petiole densely covered with brown glandular points and pubescent; leaflets 5-17, ovate, long ovate or nearly round, 1.5-5 cm long, 0.8 wide -3 cm, dark green above, green below, densely covered with yellow-brown glandular spots and pubescent on both sides, apex obtuse, mucronate, base round, margin entire or slightly wavy, more or less recurved. Racemes axillary, with many flowers, pedicels shorter than leaves, densely brown scale-like glandular points and pubescent; bracts oblong-lanceolate, 3-4mm long, brown, membranous, covered by yellow glands outside Pointed and pubescent; calyx campanulate, 7-14 mm long, densely covered with yellow glandular points and pubescent, base obliquely enlarged and sac-shaped, calyx teeth 5, nearly as long as calyx tube, upper 2 teeth larger Partly commissure; corolla purple, white or yellow, 10-24 mm long, flag petal oblong, apex slightly concave, base with short petiole, wing petal shorter than flag petal, keel shorter than wing petal; ovary dense Prickly glands. The pods are curved and sickle-shaped or ring-shaped, densely packed into balls, with dense tumor-like protrusions and spiny glands. Seeds 3-11, dark green, round or reniform, about 3 mm long. The flowering period is June-August, and the fruiting period is July-October.
How to eat licorice
1. Shi Gan tea
[Materials] gypsum 3g, licorice 3g, green tea.
[Method] Decoct gypsum with 250ml of water until the water boils, then brew licorice and green tea for 5-10 minutes, and drink until the taste is light. It can also be brewed directly for drinking.
[Efficacy] Clearing heat and promoting body fluid.
[Use] Fever, excessive sweating and polydipsia.
[Source] From "Treatise on Febrile Diseases".
2. Lian Gan tea
[Materials] Coptidis 0.5g, licorice 5g, cinnabar 2g, green tea 3g.
[Method] Boil coptis and cinnabar with 250ml of water, then brew licorice and green tea for 5-10 minutes, until the taste is light.
[Efficacy] Clear the heart and eliminate troubles.
[Use] Upset, hot heart; fever and vomiting.
[Source] From "Ren Zhai Zhi Zhi Fang".
3. Licorice tea
[Materials] Licorice 5g, green tea 3g.
[Method] Brew with 200ml boiling water and drink until the taste is light.
[Efficacy] Harmonizes the priorities, nourishes the lungs and detoxifies; anti-inflammatory, detoxification, analgesic, anticonvulsant, antitussive, diuretic, anti-tumor.
[Use] Deficiency of spleen and stomach qi, abdominal pain, loose stool, lack of appetite, fatigue and fever, lung impotence and cough, palpitation, sore throat, peptic ulcer, detoxification of medicine, detoxification of food poisoning.
[Source] Traditional herbal tea prescription.
4. Umegan tea
[Materials] 3 pieces of black plum, 3g of licorice, 3g of green tea, 10g of rock sugar.
[Method] Brew ebony, licorice and green tea with boiling water.
[Efficacy] Producing body fluid to quench thirst, astringing lungs to relieve cough, astringent intestines to soothe roundworm.
[Use] For nasopharyngeal cancer and rectal cancer.