Adjacent Words

licorice fern definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: fern having rootstock of a sweetish flavor [syn: licorice fern, Polypodium glycyrrhiza]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Licorice Lic"o*rice (l[i^]k"[-o]*r[i^]s), n. [OE. licoris, through old French, fr. L. liquiritia, corrupted fr. glycyrrhiza, Gr. glyky`rriza; glyky`s sweet + "ri`za root. Cf. Glycerin, Glycyrrhiza, Wort.] [Written also liquorice.] 1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza (G. glabra), the root of which abounds with a sweet juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions. 2. The inspissated juice of licorice root, used as a confection and for medicinal purposes. Licorice fern (Bot.), a name of several kinds of polypody which have rootstocks of a sweetish flavor. Licorice sugar. (Chem.) See Glycyrrhizin. Licorice weed (Bot.), the tropical plant Scapania dulcis. Mountain licorice (Bot.), a kind of clover (Trifolium alpinum), found in the Alps. It has large purplish flowers and a sweetish perennial rootstock. Wild licorice. (Bot.) (a) The North American perennial herb Glycyrrhiza lepidota. (b) Certain broad-leaved cleavers (Galium circ[ae]zans and G. lanceolatum). (c) The leguminous climber Abrus precatorius, whose scarlet and black seeds are called black-eyed Susans. Its roots are used as a substitute for those of true licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).