Chicory, Road Aster, Blue Daisy, Blue Dandelion, Blue Sailors, Blue Weed, Bunk, Coffeeweed, Cornflower, Hendibeh, Horseweed, Ragged Sailors, Succory, Blue Bachelor’s Buttons, Wild Endive…

Cichorium intybus

(Cichorium intybus subsp. intybus)

sik-KOR-ee-um  IN-tye-bus

Synonyms of Cichorium intybus (1) (Updated on 11-30-23 from Plants of the World Online): Cichorium rigidum Salisb. (1796) (nom. superfl.)
Synonyms of Chicorium intybus subsp. intybus (44) (Updated on 11-30-23 from Plants of the World Online): Cichorium balearicum Porta (1887), Cichorium byzanthinum Clementi (1857 publ. 1855), Cichorium caeruleum Gilib. (1782) (opus utique oppr.), Cichorium callosum Pomel (1874), Cichorium casnia C.B.Clarke (1876), Cichorium cicorea Dumort. (1827), Cichorium commune Pall. (1776), Cichorium cosnia Buch.-Ham. ex DC. (1834), Cichorium divaricatum Heldr. ex Nyman (1879), Cichorium endivia var. sativum DC. (1838), Cichorium glabratum C.Presl (1826), Cichorium glaucum Hoffmanns. & Link (1824), Cichorium hirsutum Gren. (1838), Cichorium intybus f. album Farw. (1924), Cichorium intybus subsp. balearicum (Porta) Gand. (1910), Cichorium intybus var. balearicum (Porta) Gand. (1910), Cichorium intybus var. callosum (Pomel) Maire (1939), Cichorium intybus f. crispum Makino (1912), Cichorium intybus var. eglandulosum Freyn & Sint. (1894), Cichorium intybus f. fasciatum Gaudin (1829), Cichorium intybus convar. foliosum (Hegi) Holub (1993), Cichorium intybus var. foliosum Hegi (1928), Cichorium intybus subsp. foliosum (Hegi) Janch. (1959), Cichorium intybus var. glabratum (C.Presl) Gren. (1850), Cichorium intybus subsp. glabratum (C.Presl) Arcang. (1882), Cichorium intybus subsp. glaucum (Hoffmanns. & Link) Tzvelev (1964), Cichorium intybus var. indivisum Vis. (1847), Cichorium intybus var. khatoonae Abedin & Ghafoor (2017), Cichorium intybus var. latifolium K.Hammer & Gladis (2014) (lacking concrete reference to the type), Cichorium intybus var. leucophaeum Gren. (1850), Cichorium intybus convar. radicosum (Alef.) Holub (1993), Cichorium intybus var. radicosum Alef. (1866), Cichorium intybus f. rubicunda Farw. (1924), Cichorium intybus var. sativum Gaudin (1829), Cichorium intybus subsp. sativum (Gaudin) Janch. (1959), Cichorium intybus f. sativum (Gaudin) Bisch. (1851), Cichorium intybus f. sylvestre (Lam.) Bisch. (1851), Cichorium intybus var. sylvestre (Lam.) Vis. (1847), Cichorium officinale Gueldenst. ex Ledeb. (1846), Cichorium perenne Stokes (1812) (nom. superfl.), Cichorium sylvestre Garsault (1764) (not validly publ.), Cichorium sylvestre Lam. (1779), Cichorium sylvestre var. globosum Gray (1821 publ. 1822), Hieracium cichorium E.H.L.Krause (1906)

Cichorium intybus L. is the accepted scientific name for this species. The genus and species were both named and described by Carl von Linnaeus in the second volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.  

Accepted Infraspecific Names (2) (Updated on 12-30-23 from POWO): *Cichorium intybus subsp. intybus (autonym), Cichorium intybus subsp. spicatum I.Ricci. *When an infraspecific taxon is named, an autonym (“type-specimen”) is automatically generated whose description is closest to the (original) species. All have their own synonyms. Cichorium intybus subsp. spicatum may only be found in Italy and Yugoslavia.

As of 11-30-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online by Kew lists 7 species in the Cichorium genus. It is a member of the plant family Asteraceae with 1,702 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO. The number of genera in this family fluctuates often.

As you can see from the map above from Plants of the World Online, Cichorium intybus is found throughout much of the world. Areas in green are where it is native and purple is where they have been introduced. The map on the USDA Plants Database for the United States and Canada is the same. 

The map on iNaturalist shows where members have made observations. Anyone can join and it is a great website to confirm and share your observations. The maps on iNaturalist are continually updated as members post new observations.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING AND TO HELP WITH A POSITIVE ID.

Have you ever wondered what those blue flowers are growing along highways and backroads? Well, folks, they are likely Cichorium intybus, commonly known as Chicory, Road Aster, Blue Daisy, Blue Dandelion, Blue Sailors, Blue Weed, Bunk, Coffeeweed, Cornflower, Hendibeh, Horseweed, Ragged Sailors, Succory, Blue Bachelor’s Buttons, Wild Endive, and possibly others. You may recognize a few of those names that are associated with other species as well. 

Cichorium intybus is an Eurasian native that has made itself at home in many countries throughout the world. It is found in every state in the continental U.S. and is widely known as a coffee substitute. Plants are easily identified by their blue flowerheads without disc florets. Information online says they are perennial, biennial, or annual, so maybe it depends on the climate they are growing in. 

I always wanted to stop along the highway to take photos of this species since, oddly, there aren’t any growing here on the farm. Fortunately, I found several colonies growing on a friend’s farm west of town in 2019. They seem to be one of those weird species that like growing in more packed soil and gravel…

At first, Cichorium intybus forms a rosette of basal leaves which looks similar to dandelions…

Then, stems emerge from the center of the rosette…

Plants grow up to 3’ in height from a rosette of basal leaves in favorable conditions. The stems grow erect at first and then produce many branches that seem to grow in all directions. Kind of reminds me of Euphorbia tirucalli at a glance (without the leaves and flowers)… The upper part of the stems and branches are glabrous (not hairy), while the lower portions are normally covered with somewhat curly, short, multicellular white hairs. The stems can be green to reddish-brown and contain a milky sap similar to species of the plant family Euphorbiaceae

The basal leaves grow in a rosette of irregularly lobed pinnatifid leaves that are up to 10-13” long and lance-shaped in outline. The leaves are said to be lyrate with the terminal lobe larger than the other lobes, and have winged petioles. The stem leaves are similar but smaller as they ascend upward. Many upper stem leaves may not have lobes…

Most of the stem leaves clasp the stems and are often auriculate (lower lobes that clasp the stem). The upper surface is usually glabrous (no hairs) while the undersurface has fine short hairs (pubescent), especially along the midribs.

The upper stems terminate with panicles or single flowerheads on spike-like branches. Each flowerhead is approximately 1 1/2” across and has 2 series of involucral bracts. The outer series has 4-6 bracts and the inner series has 8-12 bracts.

Both series of bracts are covered with glandular hairs. Flowerheads have a flat receptacle from which the flower parts emerge.

The flowers include 10-30 ligulate ray florets while there are no disc florets. The corollas (petals) are usually various shades of blue but can be pink or white, with 5 teeth at the tips.

The flowers have several light blue stamens with blue anthers that are fused around the blue style (white below) with a split tip and a blue stigma. Flowers are produced from May through sometime in October in my neck of the woods in west-central Missouri. During the heat of the summer, the flowers may close in the afternoon. 

The flowers attract various species of bees and other insects to feed on nectar and pollen. Grasshoppers feed on the leaves. It is also reported cattle and sheep even eat the leaves occasionally even though they contain bitter latex sap…

Of course, the roots are ground and roasted as a coffee substitute. Cichorium intybus is a very important medicinal plant. The link below to PumMed Central is very informative.

I have not photographed any seed nor could I find any online to use. Descriptions online say the seeds are bluntly 5-angled (ribbed) achenes. They sometimes have 8-10 shallow longitudinal lines, are pebbled to cross-wrinkled, are brown to black, and sometimes mottled. This description is from the Missouri Plants website, slightly edited… 

The goal for 2024 is to find a colony of Cichorium intybus since there are none on the farm to take more and better photographs. I can always find them on a friend’s farm along the road in front of his pasture. 

I want to give special thanks to Pamela Trewatha of the Missouri State University for allowing me to share photos from the Midwest Weeds and Wildflowers website. I also want to thank the Missouri Plants and Bioimages websites for having great photos that can be used for educational purposes. Once I take more (and better) photos, I will replace them with my own.

There are a few more photos at the bottom of the page…

I have enjoyed photographing and learning about the many wildflowers growing on the farm and in other areas. The farm is in Windsor, Missouri in Pettis County (Henry County is across the street, and Benton and Johnson aren’t far away). I have grown over 500 different plants and identified over 250 species of wildflowers (most have pages listed on the right side of the page). I am not an expert, botanist, or horticulturalist. I just like growing, photographing, and writing about my experience. I rely on several websites for ID and a few horticulturalists I contact if I cannot figure them out. Wildflowers can be somewhat variable from location to location, so sometimes it gets a bit confusing. If you see I have made an error, please let me know so I can correct what I have written.

I hope you found this page useful and be sure to check the links below for more information. They were written by experts and provide much more information. Some sites may not be up-to-date but they are always a work in progress. If you can, I would appreciate it if you would click on the “Like” below and leave a comment. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. You can also send an email to me at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com. I would enjoy hearing from you especially if you notice something is a bit whacky.

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
INTERNATIONAL PLANT NAMES INDEX (GENUS/SPECIES)
WORLD FLORA ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
TROPICOS (GENUS/SPECIES)
FLORA OF MISSOURI (GENUS/SPECIES)
FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN
DAVE’S GARDEN
MISSOURI PLANTS
MSU-MIDWEST WEEDS AND WILDFLOWERS
USDA PLANTS DATABASE
iNATURALIST
ILLINOIS WILDFLOWERS
MINNESOTA WILDFLOWERS
KANSAS WILDFLOWERS AND GRASSES
WILDFLOWER SEARCH
*PumMed Central
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

*PumMed Central ® is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine.

NOTE: The data (figures, maps, accepted names, etc.) may not match on these websites. It depends on when and how they make updates and when their sources make updates. Some websites have hundreds and even many thousands of species to keep up with. Accepted scientific names change periodically and it can be hard to keep with as well. Some of the links may use a name that is a synonym on other sites. In my opinion, Plants of the World Online by Kew is one of the most reliable and up-to-date plant databases and they make updates regularly. I make updates “at least” once a year and when I write new pages or add new photos but I do get behind. We are all a work in progress. 🙂

A FEW MORE PHOTOS…