Plant · P-656

Root Chicory

Cichorium intybus var sativum

Chicory Root Coffee is a deep-taprooted perennial with sky-blue flowers that open at dawn and shut again as the day heats up. Its roasted, ground root has stretched or replaced coffee for generations, especially in Louisiana, while the bitter young leaves go into salads and the flowers make a garnish. The same taproot makes it a serious forage and grazing crop - lambs on chicory pasture have out-gained those on ryegrass - and it pulls nutrients up from far below the reach of shallow-rooted grass. It shrugs off drought and heat once established, though the leaves toughen and the plant bolts to flower as the season warms.