Chicory

Abstract

Chicory (Cichorium intybus L. # CICIN), succory, blueweed, coffee-weed, blue sailors, bunk, or blue daisy, is familiar to many of us as an erect weed along roadsides or in fields, displaying small, startlingly bright blue flowers. Others of us may only have tasted its roots—roasted and ground into a bittersweet coffee substitute or additive: an essential component of the New Orleans brew served blacker than a hundred midnights in a cypress swamp. Along with its close relative endive (Cichorium endivia L.), chicory also has an important place in the salads of Europe and, increasingly, the United States. Both chicory and endive were indispensable in ancient and medieval herbal pharmacies and are still used medicinally today.