Chicory
Cichorium intybus
Family Asteraceae

Characteristics:
* Flowers a clear purple-blue, with square-tipped rays, unstalked and closed by noon, 1 1/2".
* Stem rigid, nearly naked.
* Leaves dandelion-like, tough, with rounded tips, 1/2-4".
* Height: To 4'.

Natural History:
* Flowers June - October.
* Habitat: Roadsides, meadows, waste areas.
* Range: Throughout the United States.
* Introduced from Europe.

Connections!
* Chicory root has long been roasted and ground to make a coffee-like drink.

* The species name intybus comes from the Egyptian word tybi, January, indicating the month in which chicory grows in Egypt.

* The chicory plant has its origin in myth: Once upon a time, a beautiful girl fell in love with a sailor, who left her for his true love, the sea. After waiting patiently for years for his return, the gods took pity on her and turned her into a chicory plant with sailor-blue petals. In West Virginia, chicory is called Blue-Sailors, while residents of Long Island called it Ragged-Sailors.