Cichorium intybus L., Chicory

Account Summary

Growth form, status and preferred habitats

The large colourful flower-heads of Chicory are such a distinctive, pretty sky-blue that they draw attention to themselves without fail. C. intybus is a tall, robust looking, polycarpic, winter-green perennial, growing up to a metre tall, with deeply cut, pinnately-lobed, lower leaves and clasping, entire, upper stem leaves. It depends on its deeply penetrating, thick, woody taproot for survival and relies entirely on seed for its reproduction and dispersal (Allan 1978).

The species was previously considered 'native' in Britain (Melderis & Bangerter 1955), 'probably native' (Clapham et al. 1962) or 'possibly native' (Stace 1997), but following the species status review prior to the publication of the BSBI New Atlas in 2002, was eventually recognised as being an ancient (ie pre-1,500 AD) introduction or archaeophyte, throughout the whole of B & I in that atlas (Preston et al. 2002; Preston et al. 2004). It is almost certainly a relic of past cultivation for herbal medicinal use and more recently as an adulterant of coffee (Melderis & Bangerter 1955; Hutchinson 1972; Garrard & Streeter 1983).

C. intybus very often occurs as isolated individuals or in small quantity as a rare, casual, accidental introduction of disturbed, open, waste ground, rough wayside grassland and riverbanks, on moderately acid to neutral soils, always in full sun (Sinker et al. 1985). In Britain, it is particularly associated with dry, calcareous soils in S England and in Wales.

The established strategy of C. intybus is categorised as CSR, ie a balance of all three basic strategies, Competitor, Stress-tolerator and Ruderal (Grime et al. 1988, 2007).

Irish occurrence

In Ireland, although it has always been regarded a rare and local, certainly introduced species (eg Webb 1977), Chicory was known to have occurred at least once in 33 of the 40 Irish VCs during the period up to the 1950s (Cen Cat Fl Ir 2). Nowadays, it is slightly more frequently scattered in the east of the island than elsewhere, particularly around Dublin and Belfast (FNEI 3; Flora of Co Dublin). Having said that, only one site was recorded for it in the 1993-5 survey of urban Belfast (Urban Flora of Belfast). In W Ireland, C. intybus remains a very rare and thinly scattered species (F.H. Perring and K.J. Walker, in: Strohl et al. 2023).

Fermanagh occurrence

As indicated above, Chicory has only recently appeared in Fermanagh. There have been two further records, the details of which are: roadside verge at Bracky Td, SW of Lisbellaw, 26 September 1994, RHN & F. Carroll; plentiful on a roadside SW of Lisnaskea, 1 September 2001, RHN & RSF.

Flowering reproduction

The stiffly branched and grooved flower stems bear terminal solitary flower-heads (or capitula) and additional tufted groups of two or three stalkless flower-heads in the axils of the upper leaves. C. intybus flowers from July to the frosts in October, though usually only a few flower-heads are in bloom at any one time (Hutchinson 1972). Each flower-head, 25-40 mm in diameter, consists entirely of hermaphrodite, strap-shaped, ligulate florets, that are a clear, bright blue, or rarely white or pink in colour (Webb 1977). The flower-heads open early in the morning between 6 and 7 am and they always close shortly after noon, irrespective of how sunny it may be. They are visited mainly by bees and hoverflies (Clapham et al. 1962). The flowers are reputed to be self-fertile, so that even solitary plants may eventually self-pollinate and set seed. Achenes are crowned by two erect rows of minute, obtuse, chaffy scales that represent a reduced pappus of hairs (Melderis & Bangerter 1955; Hutchinson 1972). Ripe achenes are compressed, ribbed and marked with small transverse lines.

There is only one estimate of seed longevity in the survey of soil seed banks in NW Europe, which suggests seed is transient, surviving for one year or less (Thompson et al. 1997).

In common with numerous other species, the current author (RSF) has not been able to locate any basic quantitative statistics or estimates regarding flower, and seed production and achene dispersal.

British occurrence

Chicory is very much more prevalent in the more Continental climate of the S & E of England where, until recently, it was regarded as 'possibly native', eg by New Flora of the BI (Stace 1997), yet it manages to penetrate northwards up the east coast of Scotland to the area around Inverness, and somehow it hitched a lift out to Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides.

Some Chicory plants in B & I (perhaps the majority) belong to the culinary cultivar or subsp. sativum (Bisch.) Janch., whose young shoots are sometimes blanched for salads. Escapes of this shorter-lived perennial form (which is generally cultivated as an annual) can be distinguished by the basal leaves being usually only toothed, not lobed and they tend to be devoid of the coarse hairs present on the so-called 'Wild Chicory' (Salisbury 1964).

In recent times, Chicory seed has become a component of multi-species forage swards sown mainly for sheep on organic farms. As such it may persist for several years and seed may spread beyond where it was sown. It is also widely sown as a constituent of so-called 'wild-flower seed mixtures' that are popular among gardeners and local councils and are used as decoration in gardens, on waysides and in parkland. Evidence from the BSBI Atlas 2020 indicates that escape from these planted areas into surrounding semi-natural vegetation is now, since around 1992, fuelling a moderate level of short-term recovery from what has been a long-term steadily declining species population since the 1950s (Perring, F.H. and Walters, S.M.(eds.) (1962, 1976); Preston et al. 2002; Strohl et al. 2023).

European and world occurrence

C. intybus is native in Europe and probably originated in S & SE Asia and W Asia. It belongs to the Eurosiberian southern-temperate phytogeographical element and is widespread across temperate areas from B & I eastwards into Russia and Siberia, southwards to the Mediterranean basin, Macronesia and N Africa. To the north, it is present in S Scandinavia, with introduced populations extending up into the Arctic Circle. It is very widely spread with man and agriculture around the globe to N & S America, the Transval, Madagascar, E Asia, S Australia and New Zealand. Chicory is now so widely naturalised it is better described as circumpolar southern-temperate (Hultén & Fries 1986, Map 1875).

Uses

C. intybus has long been cultivated both for food and for animal forage and used medicinally since ancient times (Grieve 1931). The chicory of commerce is mainly used as a substitute or additive to cheap coffee (Hutchinson 1972). It is produced from the chopped, dried and ground fleshy root of the plant. The fresh root also is, or was in the past, boiled and eaten by Arabs, presumably as a vegetable (Allan 1978).

Medicinally, herbalists had many uses for the plant; essentially, its action is similar to the Dandelion (Taraxacum spp.), being tonic, laxative and diuretic (Grieve 1931). Vickery (2019) says that, "gypsies used a decoction of the root as a cure for jaundice".

Names

Both the common and scientific genus names ('Chicory' and 'Cichorum') are derived from the Arab word 'chicouyeh' or the Egyption 'Kehsher'(Johnson & Smith 1946; Melderis & Bangerter 1955; Grigson 1974). In Greek, the name is rendered 'Kichore' or 'Kikhorion', the Latinised version being 'Cichorum', and was used by both Theophrastus and Dioscorides. As Gilbert-Carter (1964) points out, "other forms of the word occur eg, the word 'Succory' which is often given in connection with the plant, is a corruption of 'Cicoree'". 'Chicory' is from the French 'Cichorée', from medieval Latin 'Cichorea' (Grigson 1974). The Latinised specific epithet 'intybus' is a name that appeared in Virgil of a plant that probably was a wild or cultivated form of Chicory or Endive (Gilbert-Carter 1964; Gledhill 1985). Stearn (1992) gives the Latin name 'intubus' for wild chicory and 'intybus' is derived from it.

Grigson (1955, 1987) provides three additional English common names for quite a local plant, 'Blue Endive', 'Bunks' and 'Strip-for-strip'. The first of these requires no explanation, but he provides no suggestions for the derivation of the other two! Vickery (2019) mentions a fourth English common name, 'Swine Thistle' from Yorkshire, again without any explanation.

Threats

None.

References

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