Chicory

In the heart of winter we sit around a fire - if we are lucky there’s a wood stove though a clump of candles burning bright will do to warm our bodies and souls. Around the fire we tell stories, some stories take us back to another time. Here is a story that takes us back to some of the longer days of the year when the Chicory plant is in flower.

Chicory is recognizable by its sweet pale purple or bright blue flowers made up of ray florets. The sun-ray flowers stand out along the edges of green fields and against the cool grey backdrop of urban concrete. If that doesn’t get them noticed, the gawky stalks remain stiff when shaken by the wind so they have the look of darting insects or rocking maracas. Often surrounded by bees, these beauties brighten any morning. The flowers tend to close in the heat of the afternoon so early birds have the best bet of catching their splendor.

As a member of one of the largest plant families in the world Chicory relates to its many Asteraceae cousins by how it expresses its flowers. The blunt-tipped ray florets are a giveaway for the family as is the basal rosette of leaves that the stiff, almost leafless stem arises from. Dandelion, Spotted Knapweed, Bull thistle and Ox-eye Daisy are just some of its cousins sporting a basal rosette (circular array of leaves spread out from one central point).

Chicory’s history here, in North America, begins with the coming of the colonizers from Europe and continued with further immigration from Eurasia. An adaptable plant that can tolerate a wide range of living conditions, including some very challenging environments, Chicory took root and has never left.

Chicory’s nectar is loved by pollinators, especially many species of bees and its seeds taste delicious to birds who after eating the outer husk disperse Chicory’s genetic material in their poop.

Chicory has not thrived alone. It has had help from many different ecosystem players in order to take hold here and stake a claim on this land. And for all the help that Chicory receives, it gives back. As a source of shelter and food for insects and birds. And did you know that you can eat Chicory? The leaves can be picked in early Spring (the earlier the better to avoid too much bitterness) - just cut off the whole rosette right from the top of the crown (where the center of the leaves meet the top of the root). A fresh welcome of Spring greens after a long winter of mostly browns. The root when scrubbed clean and roasted can be used as a coffee substitute or, as done in New Orleans, added into the coffee pot for a depth of flavor. What Chicory gives especially well to the urban ecosystem is a much needed added touch of our plant brethren to us humans and a diversity of flavors and shelter to the urbanite insects and birds.

Chicory has come here and thrived by inserting itself, not asserting itself into the existing ecosystem. We can learn a lot from Chicory about giving and receiving and living-with.