Monday 11 January 2016

CHICORY FLOWERS

Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the dandelion family usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Many varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds), or for roots (var. sativum), which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also grown as a forage crop for livestock. It lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and now common in North America, China, and Australia where it has become widely naturalised. "Chicory" is also the common name in the United States for curly endive (Cichorium endivia); these two closely related species are often confused.

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

4 comments:

  1. Very pretty!
    Have a great week!
    Lea

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nick,

    Blue blooms are so rare that we appreciate them even more! Isn’t it fun finding blues to share?

    Happy Blue Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful flowers. Thanks for sharing with "Through my Lens"

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete