The sight of the blue-purple sunray flower of the dandelion-like stalk of the chicory plant is a familiar greeting on summer morning walks. It grows rather like a common weed on roadsides and limestone hills, and has often been classified as such in the United States, although it was probably brought here from Europe.
The colorful flowers function rather like floral timepieces, spreading wide open in the morning and gradually closing into the afternoon. The roots of chicory are long and tap-like, and it is these that are dried, roasted and ground into the chicory that is the familiar blend that is commonly added to coffee. And in fact, in historical times, chicory substituted as the “poor man’s coffee”, when real coffee was either unavailable or prohibitively expensive.
Today coffee makers recognize its merit in coffee blends; take for example New Orleans styled coffee. Moreover, as it is caffeine-free, that makes it a great way to lower your daily caffeine consumption. Apart from this, the big, fleshy roots of the chicory plant may also be boiled and eaten, and its young, crisp leaves consumed as salad.
Health Benefits of Chicory
In terms of health benefits, chicory has been hailed as a blood purifier. The tea steeped from its leaves is a healthful tonic. The ancient Greeks and Romans esteemed its use as a liver stimulant, and it is also found to be beneficial to the spleen and bladder. It can be externally applied as a herbal paste or poultice to relieve inflammation and swellings.
References:
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/616/17569.htm
http://coffeetea.about.com/cs/coffeesubstitutes/a/chicory.htm
http://www.indianspringherbs.com/chicory.htm
“The Book of Field and Roadside: Open-Country Weeds, Trees, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America” by John Eastman (book)
