Glycyrrhiza

Along streaming water winding
Rooted in earthy sand
Within meadowed plains
And forgotten battlefields
Perennial stems reign
Succulent

Teutonic lineage
Petiolate leaflets
Bluntly alternate
Cylindrical calyx
Herbaceous branches
Crowned in violet hue regal
Astride peduncle axillary spikes

Beneath, fusiform rhizomes spread
From which black blood flows eternal
Glycyrrhizin acid, treacle demulcent balm
To quell fever, soothe wounds
Lost on the battlefields of old