Cichorium intybus (Chicory): Minnesota Wildflowers

Cichorium intybus (Chicory)

Plant Info
Also known as:	Blue Sailors, Wild Succory, Blue Dandelion
Genus:	Cichorium
Family:	Asteraceae (Aster)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	Eurasia
Status:	Invasive - ERADICATE!
Habitat:	part shade, sun; roadsides, disturbed sites, waste places, fields
Bloom season:	July - October
Plant height:	1 to 6 feet
County distribution (click map to enlarge):
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Battle Creek Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Clusters of 1 to 4 velvety blue 1 to 2 inch dandelion type flower heads widely spaced along mostly naked branches. 5 to 6 small, loose outer bracts encase 6 to 8 inner bracts that tightly enclose the receptacle, all sparsely covered with glandular hairs on the outer surface. Typically 17 rays (petals), each ray with a blue stamen with deep blue fused anthers and a style with a split tip. The tip of each ray has 5 small teeth. Blooms open in the morning and close later in the day (matutinal).

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are alternate, 3 to 10 inches long by ½ to 2¾ inches wide, roughly hairy on both surfaces, the lower leaves dandelion like (oblanceolate), toothed or cleft becoming smaller, unlobed and mostly toothless as they ascend the stem.

Leaves mostly clasp the stem. Branching is strongly divergent from the axils, consistently around 45 degrees, giving dense stands an interwoven appearance. Stems are tough and smooth, more leafy and hairy down lower becoming hairless, more sparse and open up into the panicles. Stem color is green or reddish brown.

Notes:

Chicory is a good example of an invasive species that remains sparsely scattered during early population establishment and then within a few short years shows up in masses everywhere. It is also a good example where the state's herbarium is not getting the collections it needs to document a new species spread—it's hard not to imagine its widespread throughout. Anybody thinking of getting into a new and interesting hobby? Mostly limited to roadsides and waste places but Chicory can encroach upon higher grade dry prairies. The flowers are much like the native Showy Blue Lettuce (Mulgedium pulchellum) but it is a smaller plant with smaller flowers in a more open panicle.

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More photos

Photo by K. Chayka taken at Battle Creek Regional Park, St Paul. Photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken in Ramsey County.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: brin in st paul
on: 2011-05-26 17:42:44

i would like to plant some chicory in my garden...i know it tends to travel, but it also makes great coffee extender, if you know how to process it (i do)...besides the flowers and texture of the plant are really wonderful. as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder i guess.

Posted by: K. Chayka
on: 2011-05-27 07:23:15

You must know that we cannot condone gardening with plants like chicory, which do indeed tend to travel, and which you cannot keep contained in your own space unless you keep it indoors.

There are many plants that have some use to humans, even if it is only an aesthetic quality. But plants are here to benefit the larger ecology, which means insects and other wildlife farther up the food chain. Where invasive species like chicory crowd out natives the ecology degrades. At some point it becomes an ecological wasteland.

A lot of gardeners think "what harm can my little garden plot do?" but don't consider that it isn't just their little corner when those plants start spreading via wind, water, birds and other critters, which they do. Where do you draw the line? When do you start taking responsibility for the effects beyond your own yard? Perhaps you don't think it's a big deal, but some of us do.

Posted by: r otterness in faribault,mn .. on Bagley Ave. between hwy 1 and hwy 21
on: 2011-08-28 20:50:15

Thank you for your comment on this species. We were driving and I just fell in love with the color and had my husband pull over so I could pick some. I looked on this site to see what it was and how I could plant it in my flower bed. But after reading your comment I will not be doing that. I will have to just enjoy looking at them when I see them on the roadside. Thanks again for the warning. R.Otterness