Cichorium |
Habit of the wild chicory
The
flower heads of the wild chicory
are completely made of ray
florets
The outer phyllaries, recognizable by the ciliated margins, are usually shorter than the inner ones. In this case, it is inversely.
The blue anthers at their margins are connate into a tube that let the white pistil showing through the seams, resulting in a stripe pattern. The two stigma lobes are rolled back.
Comprising only 8 species, the genus is widespread in Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia and was introduced in the Americas. The annual, biennial or perennial, lactiferous herbs have a taproot and usually erect stems, that are branched and often hirsute. The elongated basal leaves, which are runcinate to pinnate, and sometimes the lower stem leaves are stalked, while the middle and upper leaves are smaller, sometimes simple, entire or serrated, sessile and sometimes amplexicaul. All stem leaves are arranged alternate.
Consisting exclusively of ray florets, the showy flowers heads are arranged solitary at the end of branches, that are sometimes thickened below the flower heads, as well as solitary or in groups in the axils. The cylindrical involucre is 4–10 mm wide and made of up to 15 phyllaries, that are arranged in two or more rows, usually are ovate to linear and hardened at the base, wherein the outer ones are short and spreading – the inner phyllaries are longer and upright. There are mostly up to 25 hermaphrodite florets with bright blue, pink or rarely white ligules, that are 5-toothed and wide linear. The florets arise from a flat, pitted receptacle, mostly without chaffy leaves.
After pollination by bees or hoverflies or self-pollination, the inferior ovary forms a brownish, triangular to pentagonal, elongated nut fruit (achene), at the apex with about 50 small roundish scales originated from the calyx, which are arranged in 1 to 2 rows.
| Floral formula: |
| ↓ K=scales [C(5) A5(connate)] G(2) inferior |
Useful plants
Cichorium intybus var. sativum, the root chicory was used in antiquity as a root vegetable. In the 18th and 19th centuries the taproot was roasted and used alone or in combination with other ingredients as a coffee substitute.
Cichorium intybus var. foliosum originated from the the root chicory and is known as common chicory. Commercially available are the bright basal leaves that develop in artificial darkness directly out of the fleshy root and incline towards each other to form a bulb. Also radicchio is a cultivated variety of chicory.
Cichorium endivia, or also called endive, is available in about 8 different varieties. The rather thick basal leaves taste slightly bitter and form an upright rosette unlike lettuce or chicory, which form compact heads.
Historical publications
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, called Horace (65–8 BC), wrote in an ode to Apollo (Horatii Carmina 1, 31): „Dis carus ipsis, quippe ter et quater / anno revisens aequor Atlanticum / inpune. me pascunt olivae, / me cichorea levesque malvae." (He [the rich merchant], a favorite of the gods, who toured the Atlantic three times and four times a year with impunity. However, I live on olives, chicory and easily digestible mallows).
Theophrastus (371–287 BC) described a class of chicory-like plants, which he united by their leaf shape. About the wild chicory (Kikorion), he reported that it was tall and had many side branches. The stems were tough and would used like willow branches. The root was long and therefore difficult to remove. Would the aerial parts removed and used as a vegetable, it would grow again from what was remaining in the soil.
Pliny (about 23–79 BC) knew two kinds of Intubi: The wild Intubus would also called Ambula (hiker), in Egypt it would be referred to as Cichorium (Cichorium intybus), the tame one would be called Seris (Cichorium endivia). It was smaller and the leaves had more veins. Cichorium would have a healthy effect on liver, kidneys and stomach. Even against bladder diseases, headache and eye flow Pliny knew preparation forms of wild chicory. He also reported that the magicians would say, if you rub with the oil mixed with vegetable juice, you could get from others everything you wanted.
Dioscorides (1st century AD) distinguished between two species of Seris. The wild one would be called Picris or chicory, the tame one was more tasty. Of the latter one there were again two varieties. They all would be good for the stomach.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) wrote about the "Sunnewirbel": Who carries the plant to rule over others, would be hated by all. Against clogging wild chicory and greater burdock should be cooked in wine and be taken after dinner. One part dried and powdered chicory, one part dried and powdered burdock and one part salt, all mixed with honey and taken after dinner, would promote digestion.
Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566) treated two varieties of chicory together in one chapter: the wild chicory and the dandelion (Taraxacum), which he also called "Rhörlkraut", "Pfaffenhörlin" or yellow chicory, and attributed all of them similar therapeutic effects. They would be stomachic, and cooked with vinegar they promoted digestion. In addition to gout, erysipelas and sore eyes, they'd cure jaundice and expel dead fetuses if they are cooked and drunk.
Meaning of the species name
- intybus: lat. intubus = old name of wild chicory and endive according to Pliny
Interesting notes
The wild chicory, according to an old fairy tale, should be a blue-eyed damsels that was morphed into a plant by waiting day after day, year after year at the roadside for their fiance that was fallen in a battle.
Like the sunflower, the heads of the wild chicory always turn in the direction of the sun, but they are very short-lived. Each flower head opens only once a day for about 6 hours in the morning.