Glycyrrhiza

Taxonomy

Glycyrrhiza C. Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 741. 1 Mai 1753.

Subfamily: Faboideae.
Phylogenetic Number: 3.16.22.
Tribe: Galegeae.
Subtribe: Glycyrrhizinae.
Species Studied - Species in Genus: 9 studied; ca. 20 in genus.

Description

Fruit: A legume; unilocular; 1.2–3.5 cm long; 0.5–1.2 cm wide; 0.2–1 cm thick; 2–9 times longer than wide; with deciduous androecial sheath, or persistent androecial sheath; with deciduous corolla; with persistent calyx, or deciduous calyx; with calyx shorter than fruit; without orifice formed by curving of fruit or fruit segments; slightly curved, or curved, or 0.5-coiled; not plicate, or plicate (somewhat folded: wavy); not twisted, or twisted; symmetrical; elliptic, or linear, or moniliform; not inflated; compressed, or terete; with beak; straight; with solid beak the same color and texture as fruit; short tapered at apex; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; short tapered at base; aligned with longitudinal axis of fruit; with the apex and base uniform in texture; coriaceous; seed chambers externally visible; seed chambers with the raised seed chambers torulose, or not torulose; margin constricted; margin constricted along both margins; margin without sulcus; margin plain, or embellished; margin with spines (with straight or hooked apices); wing(s) absent; stipitate, or nonstipitate; with the stipe 5–30 mm long; with all layers dehiscing; splitting along suture(s). Dehiscence of valves along 1 suture; apical and down (or just apical); passive. Replum invisible. Epicarp dull; monochrome; reddish brown; with surface texture uniform; glabrous, or pubescent and indurate; with hairs erect; with 1 type of pubescence; puberulent; with pubescence golden (and gland tipped); with pubescence uniformly distributed; with simple hairs; pliable; with hair bases plain; glandular; with glandular hairs, or dots; with spines (with straight or hooked or plain or glandular tips), or without spines; with spines persistent, or broken off and their bases evident; with spines same color as the rest of the fruit; not smooth; with elevated features, or recessed features; veined, or not veined; reticulately veined, or longitudinally veined relative to fruit length; not tuberculate; tuberculate (bases of spines); pitted (centers of spine bases); not exfoliating; without cracks; without embedded tissue, much thicker than epicarp, running from base to apex. Mesocarp present; thin; surface not veined; 1-layered; without balsamic vesicles; without fibers; without reniform canals; vitriol; coriaceous. Endocarp present; visible; dull; opaque; monochrome, or mottled; tan; with brown overlay (reddish); smooth; without adhering pieces of testa; septate, or subseptate, or nonseptate; with septa thin (tissue paper-like), flexible, or thicker than paper, firm; with septa eglandular; coriaceous; not exfoliating; remaining fused to mesocarp and epicarp; without wings; entire. Seed(s) 1–8; length parallel with fruit length; neither overlapping nor touching; in 1 series. Funiculus 0.5–1 mm long; of 1 length only; thick; straight, or curved. Aril absent.

Seed: 2.5–7.5 mm long; 2–6 mm wide; 1.8–3.3 mm thick; not overgrown; not angular; asymmetrical; reniform, or oblong, or D-shaped, or circular; compressed; with surface smooth; with visible radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes, or without external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes; with external groove between radicle and cotyledon lobes same color as testa; without hilar sinus; without umbo on seed faces; without medial ridge on each face. Cuticle not exfoliating; not inflated; not wrinkled. Testa present; without pieces of adhering epicarp; not adhering to endocarp; free from endocarp; dull; not modified by a bloom; colored; monochrome, or mottled and streaked; with frequent mottles; with frequent streaks; yellowish, reddish, or greenish brown, or green (yellowish or brownish); with black overlay; glabrous; smooth; coriaceous. Pleurogram absent. Pseudopleurogram absent. Fracture lines present; reticulate. Rim absent. Wing(s) absent. Raphe visible, or not visible; from hilum through lens to base of seed and terminating; not bifurcating; darker than testa; black; flush. Hilum present; visible, or partially concealed; concealed by funicular remnant; with faboid split; with the lips of the faboid split the same color as the rest of the hilum; larger than punctiform; 0.8 mm long; with curved outline; circular; between cotyledon and radicle lobe; recessed; within rim, or within halo; halo of testa, or darker than testa (slightly); rim color of testa, or darker than testa (slightly). Lens discernible; 0.2–1 mm long; with margins curved; circular; not in groove of raphe; adjacent to hilum; 0.5–1.5 mm from hilum; mounded; same color as testa; not within corona, halo, or rim. Endosperm present; thick; not pluglike and not resembling tip of radicle; covering entire embryo; adnate to embryo. Cotyledons smooth; both outer faces convex; both the same thickness; both more or less of equal length; not folded; margin entire 180 degrees from base of radicle; similar at apex; partially concealing radicle; entire over radicle; without lobes; with the interface division terminating at base of radicle; without margins recessed; tan; inner face flat; glabrous on inner face. Embryonic axis deflexed; oblique to length of seed; without a joint evident between the radicle and the cotyledons. Radicle differentiated from cotyledon; bulbose; lobe tip straight; deflexed and parallel to cotyledon width; centered between cotyledons; less than 1/2 length of cotyledons. Plumule rudimentary; glabrous.

Distribution

North America, Temperate South America, Eurasia to Australia.

New World to Old World; Canada, United States, and South America (temperate); Argentina; Europe to Mediterranean to Russia to Southwest Asia to Africa to China to Indonesia and the Philippines to Australia to Mongolia.

Tribal Notes

Tribe Galegeae

Traditionally this tribe has been called Galegeae. Reveal (1997) reported that the name Astragaleae was published before the name Galegeae. Following the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 1994), the oldest name for a taxon must be used, so Reveal suggested that this tribe should be called Astragaleae. In 1999 Reveal (1999) reversed himself, so that this tribe remains the Galegeae. Welsh (1960) reported on the Galegeae of north-central United States. Sanderson and Liston (1995) carried out cladistic analyses of Galegeae genera using molecular data. They concluded that Galegeae is paraphyletic having given rise to tribes Cicereae (20), Hedysareae (18), Trifolieae (21), and Fabeae (19), and therefore requiring a re-evaluation of the circumscription of Galegeae. Heenan (1995, 1998c), utilizing unpublished nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS data, concluded that "Carmichaelia (17.05) is nested within (the) 'Astragalean clade' of Galegeae" and is the sister group of Clianthus. He therefore supported the proposal of Sanderson and Wojciehowski (1996) that Carmichaelieae should not be recognized at tribal level, but rather included in Galegeae.