Herb Garden: Licorice

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Most of our modern supply of licorice is commercially grown . . . for its medicinal value as a natural laxative and for use as an ingredient in cough mixtures. The thick, black syrup extracted by boiling chopped sweet root is 50 times sweeter than sugar cane, and helps disguise less palatable ingredients.

GROWING YOUR OWN

Of course, most of us know licorice best in the form of the chewy twisted sweets we were fond of as children. Now you can't grow candy sticks in your garden . . . but you certainly can grow licorice plants from live roots. The wrinkled, brownish yellow rootstock will produce—as it comes up each year—a five-foot shrub.

A dry, stony soil in full sun is best for the herb. The plant's stems will bear alternate pinnate leaves—with three to seven pairs of dark green oval leaflets—and pealike, pale lavender or yellow flowers will blossom throughout the summer.

Licorice stems make a tasty tea.

Homegrown licorice stemspeeled of their bark-can be used to prepare a tasty tea . . . or even as teething sticks for small children!

Live licorice roots can be obtained from commercial outlets. One excellent mail order source is Taylor's Herb Garden, Dept. TMEN, 1535 Lone Oak Road, Vista, California 92083.

Or, if you prefer not to grow it yourself, many bulk herb companies can supply whole dried licorice sticks or cut licorice root for making teas, syrups, and candies. Here are two reliable sources: The Herb Shoppe, Dept. TMEN, 3618 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, California 92104 . . . and Aphrodisia, Dept. TMEN, 28 Carmine Street, New York, New York 10014 (include $2.50 for this firm's catalog).

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