Gan Cao (Glycyrrhiza uralensis)

Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae | Edibility: Edible (3/5)

Glycyrrhiza uralensis is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.4 m (1ft 4in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Fall, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweetener for foods. — The fibrous root is used as a sweetener for foods.; It is boiled in water to extract the sugars etc and used as a liquorice substitute in sweets, medicines, drinks etc.; The root contains glycyrrhizin, which is 50 times sweeter than sugar.

Habitat & North American Range

Meadows, riparian woodlands and solonetzic slopes in Siberia, Mongolia, China and Japan. (Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9)