_Cichorium Intybus_
_Flower-head_--Bright, deep azure to gray blue, rarely pinkish or white,
1 to 1-1/2 in. broad, set close to stem, often in small clusters for
nearly the entire length; each head a composite of ray flowers only,
5-toothed at upper edge, and set in a flat green receptacle. _Stem:_
Rigid, branching, 1 to 3 ft. high. _Leaves:_ Lower ones spreading on
ground, 3 to 6 in. long, spatulate, with deeply cut or irregular edges,
narrowed into petioles, from a deep tap-root; upper leaves of stem and
branches minute, bract-like.
_Preferred Habitat_--Roadsides, waste places, fields.
_Flowering Season_--July-October.
_Distribution_--Common in eastern United States and Canada, south to the
Carolinas; also sparingly westward to Nebraska.
At least the dried and ground root of this European invader is known to
hosts of people who buy it undisguised or not, according as they count
it an improvement to their coffee or a disagreeable adulterant. So great
is the demand for chicory that, notwithstanding its cheapness, it is
often in its turn adulterated with roasted wheat, rye, acorns, and
carrots. Forced and blanched in a warm, dark place, the bitter leaves
find a ready market as a salad known as “barbe de Capucin” by the
fanciful French. Endive and dandelion, the chicory’s relatives, appear
on the table, too in spring, where people have learned the possibilities
of salads, as they certainly have in Europe.
From the depth to which the tap-root penetrates, it is not unlikely
the succory derived its name from the Latin _succurrere_ = to run
under. The Arabic name _chicourey_ testifies to the almost universal
influence of Arabian physicians and writers in Europe after the
Conquest. As _chicoree, achicoria, chicoria, cicorea, chicorie,
cichorei, cikorie, tsikorei_, and _cicorie_ the plant is known
respectively to the French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians, Germans,
Dutch, Swedes, Russians, and Danes.
On cloudy days or in the morning only throughout midsummer the “peasant
posy” opens its “dear blue eyes”
“Where tired feet
Toil to and fro;
Where flaunting Sin
May see thy heavenly hue,
Or weary Sorrow look from thee
Toward a tenderer blue!”
--Margaret Deland.