Licorice root is sweet: bite off a piece and hold it in the mouth, and first comes clean sweetness, then a faint bitterness, then the sweetness returns. It grows on northern sandy land—barren above ground, while beneath the soil its roots walk horizontally for meters.

Chew a Piece, Sweet Enough to Cloy

Licorice’s sweetness is direct: cut a small piece and hold it in the mouth, and before long your whole mouth returns sweet, with more lingering depth than sugar. The licorice plum and licorice popsicle of childhood all owed their taste to this one note.

The sweetness comes from glycyrrhizin and related compounds in the root—present in small amount yet extremely strong. It needs no added sugar; it is itself a sweetness.

— Botany Notes, self-inscription —

Content to be one flavor that harmonizes all the rest,

it never claims first place in any formula.

Nine Formulas in Ten, Called the “Grand Elder”

It appears constantly in formulas; the ancients said “nine formulas out of ten” and called it the grand elder (guolao)—harmonizing all the other medicines so their natures do not clash or upset the stomach. In any prescription, it is often the least conspicuous and the most indispensable ingredient.

Physicians value it for moderation: pressing down the sharp edge of stronger drugs and rounding out the taste of the whole formula. With licorice in it, the prescription stands steady.

Roots That Walk Through Sand

Licorice’s roots and rhizomes travel horizontally through sandy soil, extending a long way, so a single plant can hold a large patch of sand. At the fringes of northwest deserts, it is often planted to fix the surface of moving dunes.

It loves light, tolerates drought and salinity, and thrives best on sandy soil. Digging licorice is a craft: follow the direction the root runs, and one root may mean a trench two or three meters long.

• How to know it: Perennial legume herb; root and rhizome stout, creeping, outer bark reddish-brown; pinnate compound leaves; raceme purple or white, blooming summer.
• Season: Flowers June–August; roots usually dug in autumn, dried in the sun after removing soil.
• Caution: Not for long-term or heavy intake; those with edema or hypertension and pregnant women must follow a physician—do not take it on your own for long.

The Measure of Using It

Licorice seems gentle, yet cannot be taken long or in quantity: its components may cause water and sodium retention, raised blood pressure, and low blood potassium; the edematous and hypertensive must be especially careful.

It is like a peacemaker: a short presence puts everyone at ease; stay too long and it becomes a problem itself. Medicine and people alike—measure matters most.

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Keywords: licorice · harmonizing drugs · grand elder · desert sand fixing