Description
This branching, scraggly-looking plant grows up to 3-6 feet tall. A large cluster of leaves is at the base and the stem has fewer and smaller leaves. The leaves at the base look like dandelion leaves. The sky blue flowers can be up to 1.5 inches wide and open only on a sunny day.
Where To Find
You can find chicory in roadsides, weedy fields, grassy areas, waste areas, near parking lots and along roads.
What And How To Eat
Every part of this plant is edible although the flower is very bitter. The young leaves can be eaten as a salad or boiled as a vegetable. You can cook the root as a vegetable. Chicory roots can serve as a coffee substitute when roasted and pulverized.
Medicinal Use
A decoction of the root is beneficial in treating of gout, rheumatism and jaundice.