- Description:
Erect stems are mostly unbranched. Leaves are alternate with 11-19 oblong leaflets.
Pealike flowers are white to greenish.
- Comments:
American Licorice is found in prairies statewide and forms colonies from rhizomes. Fruits
are reddish-brown burs with hooked spines, similar to cockleburs. Roots of licorice plants
had many uses. Meriwether Lewis, on the 1804-1806 western expedition, reported the roots
may be prepared by roasting and pounding slightly to produce an edible part with a flavor
similar to sweet potato. Medicinally, the root was used in cough syrups. Commercial
licorice flavoring is from a related European species.
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