Chicorium intybus, Chicory or Witloof
Sometimes it’s funny to search, read and learn things about native plants. Most of the times, I learn important things from ancient greek books but not this time. This time I feel surprise with the informations I found around the world for Chicorium intybus.
But before I tell you about my gleanings I must tell you about this plant in my country. We call it “radiki” in everyday language and it’s a very known wild plant in Greece. Many generations eat this plant here, they grew up with the salad of this plant.
We collect the fresh leaves in spring and we continue collect them until May when we see the first blue flowers in the plants. We usually boil these leaves and make salad with olive oil, salt and lemon (or vinegar).
We already know how important is this bitter salad for our health and not only this. We know that this salad saved many people from hunger the difficult years of World Wars and Civil Wars. We respect this wild plant here.
The new generations are not so familiar with the collection of this plant because they used to buy anything from super market but if you give a knife in spring in any older man or woman and ask to bring you “radikia” it’s sure that they can collect this plant.
I belong in these new generations. I grow up in city. I remember my mother to collect these plants all her life when we went in plot but if you give me a knife and ask me to bring you “radikia” I will not bring you anything. I can’t understand easily which is the plant. Last year I learn how look like the blue flower of this plant and I feel happy about this. I take it some photos to remember the flower (ok you are free to laugh now).
We consider some plants “Greek”. And this plant is one of them. Most of us I think we will never search for this plant in other countries. This is stupid but I think it’s true.
The... unknown vegetable - photo by Gaetan Lee
Yesterday I purchase a translated gardening book, the original is in German language. And I see one unknown vegetable with an unknown name but with a familiar flower. Ok this was a problem for me. Big problem. What is this vegetable? I know the flower, I took photographs last year in my plot and I am sure it’s “radiki”.
I already known my next step. Google. Google is my friend. I was feeling that it was important for me to know about this unknown vegetable with the familiar flower. And I found many informations.
First of all the name. I already know that many scientific names of taxonomy are greeks. So I found that Theophrastus and Dioscorides call this plant as kixorio (see the first photo for the greek word) which we can write it as chichorio in a latin alphabet.
This gleaning solve the half problem. I was sure that we talk for the same plant. But the other half of problem it was the unknown vegetable. So I continue search about this. I also ask my mother to see this unknown vegetable but she swear that she has no idea about this.
So… I found that is a … “new vegetable”. You can take it if you forceren the roots to give you this vegetable. You can take the normal roots of plant indoors after you cut the leaves and grow it without sunlight.
I found many informations for “Brussels Grondwitloof” in European Union site.
“Brussels grondwitloof refers to chicory heads obtained by forcing the roots Chicorium intybus L., var. foliosum Hegi (crop group chicory) of the Asteraceae (ex Compositae) family. Characteristic of the cultivation is that only seedfast (non-hybrid) grower’s selections are used and that forcing takes place in soil and under casing soil. Through the casing soil the head grows in a balanced and cushioned environment, which benefits crispness and leaf structure.
photo by wikipedia
For drawing or forcing, the roots are placed side by side upright and slightly slanting in holes or chicory beds and covered with a 5 to 20 cm thick layer of crumbly soil. This may be in the open air or in a chicory shed. ”
I also learn that some people use the roots to make coffee. This starts at the World War years but some people continue drink this coffee. I don’t think we ever make coffee from this plant. In the years of War I know we make coffee from chick-pea usually.
To tell you the truth I feel uncomfortable now. All these are crazy for me. I feel that I must try to force this plant to give me this vegetable, to see it my own eyes, to understand it.
This time, when I will go to plot I am sure I will collect many leaves for salad and I will also dig the soil to find some roots.
What you know for this wild plant? How you use it?
(wow this was big post for my poor english)
Hi Mary, Very interesting post. I had no idea that this plant is edible! The blanched leaves are so bizarre looking. I did some googling and it turns out that Chicory, is a relative to the true endive, they are both in the same genus Cichorium, hence the similar looking leaves. True endive is Cichorium endivia and this plant that were are talking about is Cichorium intybus, also known as, curly leaved chicory. There is also Radicchio, perhaps a corruption of radiki, which is also in the genus chicory. It has red leaves with white veins and it’s normally served is fancy salads. My grandpa would refer to times when roasted chicory roots were used as a coffee substitute. In the states we also call this plant Bachelor’s Buttons, or Cornflower. Cornflower is also used by designers and manufacturers as a name for a shade bright blue similar to the flowers. Maybe I’ll look for leaves this spring, before they flower!
@Lzyjo until now, the only leaves “I know” are the green leaves you can see in illustration. I will take some photos when I will go to my plot
I had the same problem until I saw garden freak in Istanbul’s blog. So now I know how to identify the early first leaves before the plant flowers and becomes inedible. Now I am trying to indentify sonchus and other closely related species, these change so much during the course of the growing season that they are epecially hard to identify correctly.
@Sarah it’s not easy to indentify the wild edible plants, you must have someone who knows the plants with you. Here the knowledge goes from parents to children usually or with the help of friends.
a grandmother would be the best way of learning about the plants. I majored in plant science so did it the nontraditional way. The first thing I learned were the poisonous plants, and there are quite a few, so at least I wont poison myself! I also have Flora Palestina, which helps me identify the plants correctly. The yellow flowers are hard to get correctly, I need to read the descriptions carefully because the pictures are not enough as they all look the same! happy gardening!