Varieties and varieties of licorice

1. Licorice: the root is cylindrical, long 30~120cm, diameter 0.6~3cm. The outer skin is loose and tight, reddish brown, dumb brown or grayish brown, with obvious wrinkles and grooves, commonly known as "ditches and ridges" and sparse fine root marks. the lenticels are transversely long and slightly sunken in the center of the section at both ends. The incision shrinks like the size of a pepper eye, which is called a "pepper eye". The quality is solid and heavy, the cross section is fibrous, yellow-white, powdery, with obvious cambium ring and radial texture, with fissures. There are bud marks on the surface of the rhizome and medulla in the middle of the cross section. The breath is slight, the taste is sweet and special.

2. Glycyrrhiza uralensis: the texture of root and rhizome is solid, some have branches, the outer skin is not rough, grayish brown.

3. Glycyrrhiza uralensis: root and rhizome are qualitative, stout, some are branched, the outer skin is rough, grayish brown or grayish brown, hard, woody fiber, small powder. Adventitious buds are numerous and stout.

Licorice powder has a yellowish, flat surface with knife cutting and longitudinal cracks.

(1) Western grass: it mainly includes Ikezhao League in western Inner Mongolia, Bayannur League, Alashan League and northern Ningxia. Northern Shaanxi, northern Shanxi and Gansu Hexi Corridor are classified as this kind of quality. The products here are all authentic licorice, usually cut evenly at both ends, with red color, fine skin lines, "ditch, depression and ridge" and "pepper eye". In the past, they were divided into different places according to their origin.

1. Liangwai grass: produced in Hangjin Banner in the south of Hetao. For the highest grade of licorice, its physique is strong, the outer skin is jujube red, the inner color is goose yellow, and the powder foot.

2. Wangye grass: it is mainly produced in Qikou area of Alashan Banner, and it is also high-grade licorice. Its branches are uniform, its outer skin is darker than the grass outside the beam, and its powder is sufficient.

3. Xizhen grass: it is produced in the town of Etok and Taole and Yanchi in Ningxia. The base strip is also uniform, the skin is reddish brown, and its powder and texture are not as good as the former two, but it is also a high-quality licorice.

In addition, there are Shanghe River grass (Dalat Banner), Xiahe River grass (Baotou area and Tuoketuo Banner) and other producing areas, its quality is inferior. The product is multi-body loose, uneven, the skin color is not good (grayish brown), the powder is not as good as the authentic products, and the inner color is old yellow.

(2) Dongcao: it refers to the products mainly produced in the eastern and northeast regions of Inner Mongolia and Hebei and Shanxi provinces. Its merchandise often takes the Reed head, but does not go to the head and tail. Longer, sometimes branched, the tail is also finer, the epidermis is rough, often semi-floating, light and loose, the section is often fibrous, the section fissures are more, and the powder is not as good as the two grasss. the inner color is yellow or old yellow. It is often called "Hada grass". The northeast has a sweet taste and is often used as food. it was exported to Japan in large quantities in the past. The sweetness of Hebei and central Shanxi is lighter.

(3) * licorice: in the past, licorice was rarely used medicinally because of inconvenient transportation and secondary impurities. In recent years, it has been seriously damaged due to the wild resources of licorice (especially the authentic producing areas of Inner Mongolia). Because of its large quantity, licorice has gradually become one of the mainstream varieties. It is widely distributed from * * to the west of Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, and its products are mainly characterized by mixed strips. Licorice from three plant sources are found (see identification of the above three kinds of licorice), especially Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Processing can be included in the above-mentioned western and eastern licorice (see national specification grade). Glycyrrhiza uralensis because of its rough gray skin, poor Lignification powder, and stout, sweet but slightly bitter, often known as "nigger grass". It is often used as honey roasted licorice to cover up its color. It is also often used as industrial raw material. Production of licorice extract, licorice tablets and so on.