Cichorium

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Cichorium_pumilum.jpg

|image_caption = Wild endive (Cichorium pumilum)

|display_parents = 3

|taxon = Cichorium

|authority = L.

|type_species_authority = L.

|type_species = Cichorium intybuslectotype designated by Green, Prop. Brit. Bot.: pg 178. 1929[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/40008964 Tropicos, Cichorium L.]

|synonyms_ref = {{cite web |work=Plants of the World Online |title=Cichorium L. |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30096161-2 |access-date=23 December 2024 }}

|synonyms=

• Acanthophyton Less.
• Endivia Hill

}}

Cichorium is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358834#page/255/mode/1up Linnaeus, Carl von. 1753. Species Plantarum 2: 813] The genus includes two cultivated species commonly known as chicory or endive, plus several wild species.[http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/floraspecie.php?genere=Cichorium Altervista Flora Italiana, genere Cichorium] includes photos and distribution maps for 4 species

Image:Cichorium intybus-alvesgaspar1.jpg)]]

Common chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a bushy perennial herb with blue or lavender (or, rarely, white or pink) flowers. It grows as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America, where it has become naturalized. It is grown for its leaves, when it is known as leaf chicory, endive, radicchio, Belgian endive, French endive, or witloof. Other varieties are grown for their roots, which are used as a coffee substitute, similar to dandelion coffee.

True endive (Cichorium endivia) is a species grown and used as a salad green. It has a slightly bitter taste. Curly endive and the broad-leafed escarole are true endives.

Cichorium is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including setaceous Hebrew character, turnip moth, and the grass moth Diasemia reticularis.

;Species

• Cichorium bottae Deflers - Saudi Arabia, Yemen
• Cichorium calvum Sch.Bip. ex Asch. - Ethiopia
• Cichorium endivia L. - Egypt, Palestine
• Cichorium glandulosum Boiss. & A.Huet - Turkey
• Cichorium intybus L. - Europe
• Cichorium pumilum Jacq. - Mediterranean
• Cichorium spinosum L. - Mediterranean

Formerly included[http://dixon.iplantcollaborative.org/CompositaeWeb/default.aspx?Page=NameDetails&TabNum=0&NameId=22d4880b-3bae-4f88-9245-8dfb3c31095f Flann, C (ed) 2009+ Global Compositae Checklist ] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20141114194633/http://dixon.iplantcollaborative.org/CompositaeWeb/default.aspx?Page=NameDetails&TabNum=0&NameId=22d4880b-3bae-4f88-9245-8dfb3c31095f |date=2014-11-14 }} are several species{{which|date=March 2016}} now considered better suited to other genera: Aposeris, Arnoseris, Geigeria, Rhagadiolus and Tolpis.