COMMON CHICORY

Class: Cichorium intybus

Family: ASTER FAMILY

Sub Family: Asteraceae, Compositae

Year: Perennial

Other Names: Blue Sailors, Wild Succory

Colour: Bright blue

Height: 30 cm-1.2 m (1-4')

Each Flower: 2.5-4 cm (1-1 1/2") across with 12-16 strap-shaped ray-flowers, 5-toothed at tips; involucre has 2 rows of bracts, inner row about twice as many as, and longer than, outer ones; usually only one flower of each cluster opens at a time, closes at noon

Leaves: Basal leaves have stalk, dandelion-like, 7.5-25 cm (3-10") long, 1.3-6.5 cm (1/2-2 1/2") broad; stem leaves smaller, more lance-shaped, unlobed, clasping stem as it branches

Stems: Hairy, ridged, many-branched

Blooming Period: July - October

Habitat: Waste ground, fields, and roadsides

Note:

Poisonous. Flower closes when cloudy