Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Chicory - Cichorium intybus   L.
Members of Asteraceae:
Only member of Cichorium in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionMostly in the Piedmont and Mountains; scarce in the Coastal Plain and Sandhills proper; disjunct to the Outer Banks of Dare County. First collected in 1922 and 1923 in Orange County, then in 1937 in Wake County.

Native of Europe; in N.A. across southern Canada south to GA, AR, TX, CA.
AbundanceFrequent to common (at least locally) in the Piedmont and Mountains; uncommon in the upper and central Coastal Plain, but rare in the Sandhills and coastal regions.
HabitatRoadsides, railroads, fields, cropfields, barnyards, fencerows, vacant lots.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting late May-October.
IdentificationChicory is easily recognizable by its light blue to lavender-blue flower heads about 1.5-2 inches across and composed only of ray florets. The species is quite familiar to people in the western and central parts of the state, though not so nearer to the coast.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)Blue Sailors
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpFACU link
USACE-empFACU link
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
Photo Gallery
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B.A. SorrieRoadside and field, US 74, west Rockingham, June 2015. RichmondPhoto_non_natural