It consists of the peeled or unpeeled dried rhizomes and roots of various species of Glycyrrhiza belonging to the family Leguminosae. A number of different varieties are cultivated commercially:

• G. glabra var. typica Reg et Herd is grown in Spain, Italy, England, France, Germany and the United States. Called Spanish liquorice it consists of rhizomes with a few pieces of root and occurs in peeled and unpeeled forms
• G. glabra var.glandulifera Weld et Kit is collected in large quantities from the wild in Galicia and Central and Southern Russia along the banks of Volga and other rivers. The dried unpeeled drug from its large root stock with long perennial roots is called Russian liquorice.
• G. glabra var. violacea Boiss yields Persian liquorice and is collected in Iran and Iraq in the valleys of Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Usually unpeeled, it occurs in large coarse pieces resembling unpeeled Russian liquorice.
• G. uralensis Fischer yields Manchurian liquorice and is an important drug of Chinese commerce. This unpeeled drug, smaller in diameter than the European drug, consists of roots that exfoliate readily and the wood is easier to cut.