Cichorium intybus, commonly called Chicory, is a periwinkle blue, (some say lavender purple) colored flower, (some say weed) with several blooms up it’s stem. In Ohio, Chicory can grow about three feet tall. They are most often seen in disturbed, rather difficult soil, like along the roadside. I have seen them in large numbers along the berm of the highway while driving. This flower is quite attractive, with several periwinkle petals arranged in a plate, about two inches in diameter, around a protruding center that has several longer pistols. The stem doesn’t have many leaves and is ridged and quite woody. It will even flower again if mowed down, it’s that tough.
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Taxonomy
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Tracheophytes
- Sub-Phylum: Angiosperms
- Class: Eudicots
- Order: Asterales
- Family: Asteraceae
- Subfamily: Cichorioideae
- Tribe: Cichorieae
- Sub-Tribe: Cichoriinae
- Genus: Cichorium
- Species: Cichorium intybus
Good places to see this flower:
- Along roadsides across North America.
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