DESCRIPTION: You can recognize chicory’s initial growth by its long, deeply toothed (serrated) leaves, which eventually reach 3 to 6 inches in length. They hug the relatively warm ground and spread away from the root into a circle to catch more sunlight—the basal rosette, common in cold weather when nothing taller creates shade.

With white, milky sap, it looks like its edible relatives. However, the dandelion’s larger, sharper teeth point to the leaf base; and wild lettuce’s finely hairy leaves contrast with chicory’s hairless leaves. Without poisonous look-alikes, chicory is a good target for beginners.

By late spring, chicory grows strong, angular flower stalks up to 4 feet tall, sporting 15 to 20 sky-blue composite (dandelion-like) flowers over 11-1/2 inches across, with fringed edges. They emerge from the upper leaf axis (the joint between the stem and leaf), blooming from June to November.

Dandelions, with yellow flowers, stay close to the ground all year, while wild lettuce usually has yellow flowers, on very tall stalks.

Chicory’s stiff, gnarled, beige taproot, white inside, usually grows much longer than a carrot.

HABITAT: Chicory usually appears spontaneously if you don’t mow the lawn. It also grows on roadsides, in waste places, and in overgrown fields.

SEASON: Collect the very young leaves in March, and again in November, when new leaves emerge. In between they’re too bitter. Use the roots in the fall and early spring.

FOOD USES: Add very young chicory leaves raw to salads, or include them in cooked recipes, the same way you cook dandelions. More strongly flavored than commercial chicory, they cook in 10 to 15 minutes. To overcome the bitterness of older leaves, you may boil them in 1 or more changes of water.

To make a caffeine-free coffee-like beverage from the roots, scrub, chop, and toast them in a 350ºF oven 1 hour, or until dark brown, brittle, and fragrant, stirring occasionally. Grind to the size of coffee in a spice grinder or blender, and use like regular coffee—1½ tsp. per cup of water.

MEDICINAL USES: You can make a decoction of chicory root by slicing it, then simmering it in a covered saucepan for 10 to 20 minutes. (You usually simmer dense roots and barks to extract their essences, while you usually only steep finer, more delicate leaves, in water just off the boil, away from the heat, so you won’t drive off their essences.) Strain out the herb, and drink it hot. Herbalists use the tea as a blood purifier (detoxifier), tonic, and decongestant of the internal organs, although I haven’t seen any confirmatory research.

A strong tea of the boiled roots, flowers, and leaves is reputed to be a good wash for skin irritations, including athlete’s foot. You can apply a compress of the boiled leaves and flowers, wrapped in a clean cotton cloth, to swellings, boils, and mild inflammations.