Chicory is a common roadside wildflower

by Steve Reed on Jun 3rd

About this time of year the bright blue flowers of chicory appear once again along area roadsides. But do the drivers and pedestrians who pass by know that chicory is related to the endive and radicchio they eat in their salads, or that the root of the chicory plant is often used in coffee?

Chicory is native to Europe, but it grows wild everywhere in the continental United States and southern Canada. The flowers first appear in May and bloom throughout the summer. The plants can get to be about 4 feet tall, so they're easy to notice.

Chicory actually prefers growing near warm rocks, so that's why it's often seen along roadsides.

Chicory, or cichorium intybus, is a common coffee additive. The thick taproots are baked and then ground. It's used to extend coffee during times when coffee is expensive or scarce, and it also creates a richer, darker brew. It's particularly associated with brands of coffee from New Orleans, such as Cafe Du Monde or Community Coffee. According to the Cafe Du Monde Web site, the French developed coffee with chicory during their civil war, when coffee was unavailable.

Other forms of chicory, such as endive, are used in salads. Chicory leaves tend to be bitter, but that's appreciated in some cuisines.

Wild chicory is sometimes also known as succory, coffeeweed or blue sailors. Although some people mistakenly call it cornflower, that's actually an entirely different plant.

One more interesting chicory fact: The plant has a two-year life cycle, and only blooms in its second year. Then, after going to seed, it dies with the first frost.

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