Dictionary

sweetroot en · NOUN

Etymology

From sweet + root.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) liquorice
2. (countable, uncountable) western sweet cicely, western sweetroot (Osmorhiza occidentalis)
   • Like other members of this large family, sweetroot presents its tiny flowers in terminal, umbrella-shaped inflorescences that do little to assure us that the plant is not the deadly water hemlock (Cicula douglasii) 1997, Gregory L. Tilford, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Sweetroot, Osmorrhiza occidentalis, page 142:
   • The plant is sometimes confused with Osmorhiza chilensis (western sweetroot), which often shares the same habitat. However, unlike red baneberry, sweetroot has a strong licorice-like odor. 2009, Ray S. Vizgirdas, Edna M. Rey-Vizgirdas, Wild Plants of the Sierra Nevada, page 64:

Forms