Cichorium intybus, commonly known as chicory, is an herbaceous perennial plant that has become widespread across North America after its introduction from Europe. This member of the Asteraceae family is recognized for its striking blue flowers. The plant has long been cultivated, with its roots roasted as a coffee substitute and its leaves used as salad greens. Identifying chicory accurately requires observing its growth habit, the structure of its leaves and stems, and the unique characteristics of its flowers.
Recognizing the Growth Habit and Habitat
Chicory is frequently encountered in environments disturbed by human activity, earning it the nickname “watcher of the road.” It thrives in sunny locations along roadsides, railway embankments, abandoned fields, and waste areas. The plant typically grows as an erect, somewhat spindly herb, reaching heights between one and six feet (0.3 to 1.8 meters).
In its first year, chicory remains low to the ground, forming only a basal rosette of leaves. In subsequent years, the plant develops a tough, wiry, and highly branched flowering stem that rises from a deep, fleshy taproot. This deep taproot helps the plant tolerate drought and challenging conditions, making it common in dry, heavy, or gravelly soils.
Distinctive Features of Chicory Leaves and Stems
The vegetative parts of the chicory plant offer specific markers for identification, even before the flowers appear. The leaves are produced in two distinct forms: a basal rosette and smaller stem leaves. The basal leaves are large, often three to ten inches long, and deeply lobed, strongly resembling dandelion leaves. These lower leaves are generally rough and covered in short hairs, particularly along the central vein on the underside.
Moving up the plant, the stem leaves become progressively smaller, less lobed, and more lance-shaped. A significant feature is that these upper leaves lack petioles, or leaf stalks, and instead clasp or wrap directly around the main stem. The stem itself is rigid, tough, and often has a woody texture, typically displaying a color range from green to reddish-brown. A definitive identifier is the presence of a milky white sap, or latex, that exudes from the stem or leaves when they are broken or cut.
Key Identification Markers The Flowers
Chicory flowers typically appear from mid-summer until the first frost. They are distinctive for their color, which is most often sky-blue or light lavender, though they can occasionally be white or pink. These flower heads are composed entirely of ray florets, meaning there are no central disc florets.
Each ray floret is strap-shaped and features five small, sharp teeth at its blunt tip. The flowers are small, usually measuring 1 to 1.5 inches across, and grow directly from the stem or in small clusters in the leaf axils. The blooms are highly sensitive to light and often open only in the morning, closing by midday, especially on hot or sunny days.
Distinguishing Chicory from Look-Alikes
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a frequent source of confusion, especially in the basal rosette stage, as both plants have lobed leaves and a milky sap. The key difference lies in the flowering structure: Dandelion flowers are yellow, and each flower head grows singly atop a smooth, hollow, and leafless stalk. Chicory, in contrast, produces blue flowers and has a solid, woody, branched stem that bears leaves.
Cat’s Ear (Hypochaeris radicata), another look-alike, also has a basal rosette of leaves and yellow flowers, but its leaves are covered in dense, stiff hairs. Cat’s Ear flowers grow on stalks that may be branched but are typically much shorter than chicory’s tall, rigid stem. The combination of the blue, ray-floret-only flowers, the rigid and hairy stem, and the presence of milky sap confirms the identity of Cichorium intybus.