Chicory

About

Chicory is a European roadside plant with sky-blue flowers and a deep, milky taproot. It is more of a nuisance in fields, pastures and neglected ground than a serious garden weed, and it seldom invades natural areas.

Also called common chicory, blue sailors, succory, coffeeweed

How to identify it

Look for

The basal leaves look like dandelion leaves (up to about 8 inches long), rough and hairy. Stems 2 to 4 feet tall carry bright blue flower heads 1 to 1.5 inches across that usually close by midday. The deep, fleshy taproot oozes milky sap when cut.

Look-alikes

Before it flowers, the rosette looks like a dandelion; chicory leaves are rougher and hairier, and the plant later sends up tall flowering stems.

Where it grows

Roadsides, fields, pastures and other disturbed ground.

When

Rosettes grow in spring; it flowers from midsummer until frost.

How it spreads

By seed; established plants hold on with a deep, fleshy taproot.

Most common in

Where it is regulated

Listed as a noxious weed in Colorado (List C).

What to do, gentlest first

Start at the top. Weed killers are a last step; always read and follow the label.

1. Keep ground covered Prevent

   Chicory moves into open, disturbed spots, so keep lawns thick and beds planted or mulched.

2. Dig out the taproot By hand

   Dig out young plants with as much of the deep taproot as you can, before they flower and seed.

Uses, wildlife and pets

Edible?

The leaves are edible but bitter, raw or cooked, and the roots are dried, roasted and ground as a coffee substitute; the flowers are edible too. Young rosettes resemble dandelion, so be sure of the ID, and never pick from sprayed lawns or roadsides.

Not 100% sure? Don't eat it. Never pick from ground that may have been sprayed, or along roads and railways.

For wildlife

Bees and butterflies visit the flowers for nectar.

Pets

Not listed by the ASPCA.