Common Name: Licorice and Sweet broom. Tamil Name: Kallurukki (stone melter)
S. dulis is an erect perennial and grows to a height of about 75 cm. The stem of the plant is quadrangular and grooved. The plant is commonly seen in fallow lands and road-sides in India. Leaves are arranged in a whorled manner. Leaf shape is abovate-oblong, base is attenuate and apex acute. The leaf margin in crenate. Flowers are axillary, either solitary or in twos. The flowers are bisexual and have four numbers of white petals, sepals and stamen each. The flower neck has white hairs. The fruit is in the form of an ellipsoid-globose capsule. The plant has pan tropical distribution. The young shoots of the plant are consumed as vegetables. In India, the leaves are used to make a tea-like infusion. It is much valued for its medicinal properties in both Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine. When chewed it gives a bitter taste at first which turn sweet later. It is used to treat hypertension and diabetes and in Tamil Nadu the plant is used for treatment of kidney stones.
