Cichorium intybus

Native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. Introduced and naturalized in North America.

Pastures, roadsides, railroads, disturbed areas.

July to October

Blue or purplish-blue

12″ to 72″

This is a 12″ to 72″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises usually on a single stem from a long taproot. When broken or torn the stems and leaves exude a milky latex.

The stems are erect or ascending, green to reddish-brown, ridged longitudinally, and usually branched. They are usually hairless above, often moderately to densely covered near the base with white, curled hairs.

Basal leaves are inversely lance-shaped, 2″ to 13″ long or longer, and ⅜″ to 3″ wide or wider. They are irregularly pinnately lobed with triangular lobes and rounded sinuses. They resemble leaves of dandelion (Taraxacum). They have a prominent midvein and numerous lateral veins that join in a network before reaching the margin. The upper surface is minutely hairy. The lower surface is minutely hairy and has longer, conspicuous hairs on the midrib. The margins are irregularly toothed. Stem leaves are alternate, stalkless, and clasping, otherwise similar to basal leaves. They become much smaller, less divided, and less toothed as they ascend the stem.

The inflorescence at the end of the stem may be an unbranched, elongated, spike-like cluster (raceme) or a branched cluster with ascending, spike-like branches. Additional dense clusters or 1 to 3 flowers rise from the upper leaf axils.

The flower heads are mostly stalkless or on very short stalks, occasionally on stalks ½″ to 3¼″ long. The whorl of bracts at the base of the flower head (involucre) is cup-shaped to broadly cylinder-shaped and ⅛″ to 3 ⁄16″in diameter. There are 12 to 30 ray florets and no disk florets. The rays are usually blue or purplish-blue, rarely pink or white. They are 9 ⁄16″ to 1″ long, strap-shaped, and have 5 teeth at the tip. A blue stamen tipped with a blue anther rises from the base of each ray floret. The flowers open in the morning and close later in the day.

The fruit is an oblong to egg-shaped, 5-angled achene.