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Cichorium intybus - L.

Chicory

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Compositae	Genus	Cichorium
Synonyms
Known Hazards	Excessive and continued use may impair function of the retina[268].
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat	Grassy meadows and arable land, especially on chalk[5, 13].
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.5m by 0.5m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Lawn; Meadow; Cultivated Beds; South Wall By; West Wall By;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Root.

Edible Uses: Coffee.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 4, 5, 9, 27, 33, 171]. The leaves are rather bitter, especially when the plants are flowering[4]. The leaves are often blanched by excluding light, either by removing all the leaves and then earthing up the new growth, or by covering the plant with a bucket or something similar. Whilst this greatly reduces any bitterness, there is also a corresponding loss of vitamins and minerals[K]. The blanched leaves are often used in winter salads (they are known as chicons) and are also cooked[132, 200]. The unblanched leaves are much less bitter in winter and make an excellent addition to salads at this time of year[K]. A nutritional analysis of the leaves is available[218]. Flowers - raw[52]. An attractive addition to the salad bowl[183], but rather bitter[K]. Root - cooked like parsnip[5, 7, 9, 13, 21, 27, 46]. The boiled young roots form a very palatable vegetable[4]. The root is said to be an ideal food for diabetics because of its inulin content[9]. Inulin is a starch that cannot be digested by humans, it tends to pass straight through the digestive system and is therefore unlikely to be of use to a diabetic[K]. However, the inulin can be used to make a sweetener that is suitable for diabetics to use[K]. Chicory-root is free of harmful ingredients, and is essentially a concentrated combination of three sugars (pentose, levulose and dextrose) along with taraxarcine (the bitter principle of dandelion)[269]. It is especially important as source of levulose[269]. Roots are used in seasoning soups, sauces and gravies, and to impart a rich deep colour[269]. The roasted root is used as a caffeine-free coffee adulterant or substitute[2, 4, 5, 7, 13, 21, 27, 46]. Young roots have a slightly bitter caramel flavour when roasted, roots over 2 years old are much more bitter[238].

Composition

Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Leaves (Dry weight)

• 290 Calories per 100g
• Water: 0%
• Protein: 24.6g; Fat: 2.9g; Carbohydrate: 59.4g; Fibre: 13g; Ash: 13g;
• Minerals - Calcium: 1145mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 24.6mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
• Vitamins - A: 23mg; Thiamine (B1): 1.01mg; Riboflavin (B2): 1.74mg; Niacin: 5.8mg; B6: 0mg; C: 159mg;
• Reference: []
• Notes: 

Root (Fresh weight)

• 0 Calories per 100g
• Water: 77%
• Protein: 0g; Fat: 0.6g; Carbohydrate: 0g; Fibre: 0g; Ash: 0.8g;
• Minerals - Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
• Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
• Reference: []
• Notes: 

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Appetizer; Bach; Cardiac; Cholagogue; Depurative; Digestive; Diuretic; Hypoglycaemic; Laxative; Tonic; Warts.

Chicory has a long history of herbal use and is especially of great value for its tonic affect upon the liver and digestive tract[254]. It is little used in modern herbalism, though it is often used as part of the diet. The root and the leaves are appetizer, cholagogue, depurative, digestive, diuretic, hypoglycaemic, laxative and tonic[4, 7, 9, 13, 21, 46, 222]. The roots are more active medicinally[222]. A decoction of the root has proved to be of benefit in the treatment of jaundice, liver enlargement, gout and rheumatism[4]. A decoction of the freshly harvested plant is used for treating gravel[4]. The root can be used fresh or dried, it is best harvested in the autumn[9]. The leaves are harvested as the plant comes into flower and can also be dried for later use[9]. The root extracts have experimentally produced a slower and weaker heart rate (pulse)[222]. The plant merits research for use in heart irregularities[222]. The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Possessiveness', 'Self-love' and 'Self-pity'[209]. The latex in the stems is applied to warts in order to destroy them[218].

Other Uses

Biomass; Compost.

The roots have the potential to be used for the production of biomass for industrial use[132]. They are rich in the starch 'inulin' which can easily be converted to alcohol[269]. A blue dye has been obtained from the leaves[4]. The flowers are an alternative ingredient of 'QR' herbal compost activator[32]. This is a dried and powdered mixture of several herbs that can be added to a compost heap in order to speed up bacterial activity and thus shorten the time needed to make the compost[K].

Cultivation details

Prefers a sunny position in any moderately fertile well-drained moisture retentive soil[1, 14, 52]. Prefers a pH 5.5 to 7[200]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.5 to 8.3. Chicory grows on any type of soil but, when cultivated, grows best on mellow, deeply tilled, fertile soil or sandy loam[269].. A cool weather crop, it tolerates only moderate summer temperatures and requires well-distributed rainfall, with good drainage, or some irrigation in drier areas[269]. Chicory roots deeply in relatively short time; soil too wet for beans and small grains is not suitable[269]. To insure proper root-growth, apply lime or marl to acid soil to neutralize acidity[269]. Chicory is reported to tolerate a pH in the range of 4.5 to 8.3, an annual rainfall of 30 to 400 cm and an annual mean biotemperature of 6° to 27°C[269]. Chicory is an excellent winter salad. It is often cultivated, especially in Europe, for its edible leaves and for its roots which are used to make a coffee substitute. There are many named varieties[46, 132, 183] and, by careful selection of cultivars and sowing times, fresh leaves can be obtained all year round. There are three main types of chicory grown for their leaves, there are many cultivars of each form:- A bitter-tasting loose-leafed form is grown as a green winter vegetable, especially in southern Italy. A narrow-leafed, witloof or Belgian form has a compact elongate head (chicon) which is blanched for use in salads or cooked dishes. A broad-leaved (usually red) form produces cabbage-like hearts, these are generally less bitter than the other forms and are eaten raw or cooked. These forms are often used as a winter salad crop[K]. Although a perennial, chicory is usually cultivated as an annual crop, especially when being grown as a winter salad. The winter salad cultivars are usually sown in early summer to make sure that they do not flower in their first year of growth. By late autumn they have formed an overwintering rosette of leaves rather like a cabbage. These leaves can be harvested as required during the winter and the plants will then usually make some new growth (as long as the winter is not too cold) that can be harvested in late winter or early spring. The plants run to flower in the following summer and fail to make an overwintering rosette of leaves for that winter[K]. Chicory can be grown successfully in a meadow or even in a lawn so long as the grass is not cut too short nor too often[K]. It often self-sows freely when well-sited, especially if it is growing in a dry alkaline soil[238]. A good bee plant[24, 108]. A very ornamental plant[1]. The flowers open in the early morning (about 6 - 7 o'clock in Britain) and close around midday[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow the wild form or cultivars being grown for their roots in May or June in situ. Cultivars being grown for their edible leaves can be sown in April for a summer crop or in June/July for a winter crop. Sow them in situ or in pots and then plant them out as soon as they are large enough.

Cultivars

No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Edible Lawn, Winter Salads, Alternative Edible Leaves.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press 0 ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[32] Bruce. M. E. Commonsense Compost Making. Faber 1977 ISBN 0-571-09990-4
Excellent little booklet dealing with how to make compost by using herbs to activate the heap. Gives full details of the herbs that are used.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth. 0
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[209] Chancellor. P. M. Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies C. W. Daniel Co. Ltd. 1985 ISBN 85207 002 0
Details the 38 remedies plus how and where to prescribe them.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Cichorium intybus

Richard Clark Fri Dec 29 15:26:19 2000

I have a perennial chickory that is amazingly drought tolerant in SW Western Australia. I am surprized in the Propagation section, root division is not mentioned.

Cichorium intybus

David Nicholls Tue Apr 24 11:39:56 2001

I was surprised to read in Potter's new cyclopaedia of botanical drugs and preperations by R.C. Wren that roasted Chicory root contains harman, which is also in passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) but that it doesn't seem to be used in the same way.

I've since tried some and am almost certain it has basicly the same effect of calming the nerves and increasing physical strength or activity and stamina with no more intxication than a coffee (but quite different of course).

(The idea that Passionflower increases physical activity is mine as far as I know based on personal experience but there does seem to be confusion in the literature as to whether harmin could be expected to be a stimulant or a sedative(Tyler's Honest Herbal). I think it may be both, a cerebral sedative and physical stimulant (I think coffee which is usually called a stimulant is a physial sedative, just look at a cafe or office, perhaps sedating one allows blood for the other or something??

The idea that chickory can be used like passionflower is also "mine" as far as I know so I'd be extremely intersted to hear from any one who has tried it with this in mind, but advise opportunists against trying to make money out of the idea. It could just be the placebo effect, but it has me fooled if so.

I think stronger chemicals related to harman are MAO inhibitors so it is possible mixing it with large amounts of things incompatable with MAo inhibitors could possilby be unsafe (I Know little about the complete list of such things, I think aged cheese is one)and the standard disclaimer Icant recommend this as safe or effective.

it grows wild as a weed here in New Zealand but is not concidered a noxious weed.

Edible Wild Plants For Tortoises

Linda King Sat Aug 18 18:20:37 2001

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/Diet.htm

Please go to my main Diet page and click on the Plant List link at the top. This is a new section of my Tortoise Care website, and is an illustrated Edible Wild Plants list for tortoise keepers in the UK. Click on the Latin names to see the illustrations which are all original work. The information with the illustrations would be equally applicable to iguanas and herbivorous mammals.

Cichorium intybus

Alf Beharie Sun Sep 17 2006

I have just found some Chicory plants growing wild not far from where I live and was all set to harvest them until the moment when I saw from your site that the known hazards were: Excessive and continued use may impair function of the retina...And that has put me off wanting to eat Chicory period! If this a cummulative effect then there must be lots of half-blind Chicory eaters and drinkers out there! Thanks

Cichorium intybus

Ken Fern Mon Sep 18 2006

If you eat chicory as your main salad leaf, and are a very big eater of salads, the only effects chicory would have on you would be beneficial. You really would have to eat an extraordinary quantity of the leaves before they would do you anything other than good.

Cichorium intybus

Rayna Mon Mar 26 2007

Please note that people that are severely allergic to latex may have hazardous & potentially fatal allergic reactions to foods that contain this product. I had a cookie that contained chicory root fiber, which resulted in extreme allergic reaction. We've traced the cause back to this ingredient. Please consider including "possible allergic reactions to people with latex sensitivities" in your "Known Hazards" section.

Cichorium intybus

Thu May 3 2007

Chicory capsule is said to be good for liver and kidneys.

Cichorium intybus

laura Sun Mar 1 2009

Hello, I live in Atlanta, GA; USA. I love Chicory plant. I used to eat a lot of it, fried with garlic and red pepper, when I lived in Rome, Italy. Can anyone, please, tell me where I can find it here in Atlanta? Thanks a lot. Laura

Cichorium intybus

habib eskandari Thu Apr 23 2009

your site is very nice please send me about chicory

Cichorium intybus

AKLAVYA Sat Jul 11 2009

I NEED INFORMATION ABOUT CICHORIIN PHYTOCONTITUENTS FOUND IN CICHORIUM INTYBUS PLANT.

Cichorium intybus

sachin kumar jindal Mon Jul 13 2009

hu friends, i deals in chichorium intybus.i belongs from india. if any body want to trade me plz contract me. thanks a lot sachin jindal +91 99680485652

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