Chicory, Cichorium intybus L., Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Blue Sailors

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Chicory	Cichorium intybus L.	Aster (Composite)	Upland	Early Summer to Autumn
Other names and notes	(Blue Sailors, Succory). A plant of sunny edges and roadsides. In the Garden look for it along the path edges. The 1 1/2" flowers can have either blue or white rays. Most in the Garden are blue. The ray tips are toothed. Flowers grow along the stem and are stalkless. Leaves are alternate and partly clasping the stem. They can be entire or toothed. The toothed ones can resemble dandelion leaves. It is biennial. The first year there is only a rosette like plant, the second year the tall stem rises, reaching 3 to 5 feet. The flowers will only open in the sun and may close by early afternoon, hence the common name of "blue sailors". Linnaeus used this flower in his floral clock at Upsala because at his latitude it regularly opened at 5 AM and closed at 10 AM. More lore below.


	Above: One of the less common white rayed flowers. Below: The partially clasping leaf.

Notes: This plant was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 inventory of plants in the Garden at that time. Chicory is a native of Eurasia, now naturalized across the entire United States and the lower Canadian provinces. In Minnesota it is found in the counties of East Central and SE, plus Lake, St. Louis, Rock, Redwood, Norman and Polk - generally around larger population centers. Spreads easily by seeds so beware in the home garden.

Lore: The leaves, like dandelion leaves, can be used as salad greens but are not as tasty. The roots are parsnip like and when dried, pulverized and roasted you have the "chicory" which was used as a coffee ingredient or for adulteration of coffee. In former years large quantities were grown in Europe for such purposes. In the United States, Michigan is the largest producer of Chicory. About 65% of the roasted material will be extracted in a solution, compared to under 30% with true coffee. The Chicory root differs from coffee however, in the absence of volatile oils, rich flavor and caffeine. It does contain more soluble extract per unit weight than coffee beans do. Hutchins and others report that Chicory tea is good for the stomach, but a number of sources including Tilford and Grieve report that long term consumption may lead to a visual weakness in the retina of the eye.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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