How to Identify Quality Licorice: Wild, Cultivated, and Counterfeit Types

Licorice predominantly grows in arid and semi‑arid desert steppes, desert fringes, and loess hilly zones.

Historically, commercial licorice was sorted into two broad grades: bark‑type licorice and powder‑type licorice. Botanically, three official licorice species are recognized: Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Chinese licorice), Glycyrrhiza inflata (inflated licorice), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (glabrous licorice / licorice of‑the‑glabrous fruit).

Materials come from two sources: wild‑harvested and artificially cultivated.

Wild‑Harvested Licorice

Wild Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Liangwai Licorice, authentic Daodi medicinal material)

Liangwai licorice features a reddish‑brown outer bark covered with wrinkles and grooves. Its cross‑section is bright yellow with a porous chrysanthemum‑pattern core. It is celebrated for its fine reddish bark, abundant starch‑like powder, and minimal fibrous strands. It originates from the southern Liangwai zone of Hangjin Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, representing classic authentic‑region licorice.

Wild Glycyrrhiza inflata (North‑west / Xinjiang licorice)

Wild inflated licorice bears coarse grey‑brown outer bark. The cross‑section is pale‑yellow, strongly fibrous, low in starchy powder, and marked by visible cracks. It is mainly distributed across Xinjiang, the Sanbian area of northern Shaanxi, and the Hexi Corridor of Gansu; also known as Northwest licorice or Xinjiang licorice.

Wild Glycyrrhiza glabra (Foreign licorice)

Wild glabrous licorice has dark‑brown wrinkled bark with deep grooves. Its cross‑section appears dull‑toned, rich in powder content and low‑fiber. Native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Russia, it is imported as “foreign licorice”. It is also cultivated in Inner Mongolia, Northwest China and North China. (Reference image only: Inner‑Mongolia‑grown Glycyrrhiza glabra)

Cultivated Licorice

Cultivated licorice has a reddish‑brown outer bark. Its cross‑section shows pale‑white chrysanthemum‑pattern core. Slices with an overall bleached‑white appearance may have undergone sulfur fumigation. Major producing regions include Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Hebei and Gansu. (Figure 1: Left column: Xinjiang cultivated licorice; Middle column: Hebei cultivated licorice; Right column: Gansu cultivated licorice)

Counterfeit / Spurious Material: Post‑extraction licorice residue

These are licorice roots whose active ingredients have already been chemically extracted. Slices look dull on cross‑section; the chrysanthemum‑pattern core turns off‑white. They lack powder content, show heavy wrinkled bark, strong fibrous texture and excessive woody‑chaff character. (Shown in the four pieces on the right column of the reference picture)

Inferior‑grade licorice

Large‑sized head slices of Glycyrrhiza inflata tend to darken easily; large slice size alone does not guarantee good quality. Material containing rotten pieces or sulfur‑fumigated slices ranks as inferior grade.