Some similarities to both : Russian Lettuce and : Common Blue Sow Thistle, the flowers are much the same colour and form.

Slight resemblance to : Agrimony, in that the flowers are held close to a tall single stem, although of a totally different shape and colour.

Confusion: There is also a vegetable called Chicory, or Endive, (Cichorium Endivia, whose leaves are in a compact club-shape much like an elongated lettuce. The leaves are eaten as a salad. This vegetable is from the same genus as the above (Common) Chicory, Cichorium Intybus, but of differing species.

Uniquely identifying characteristics: Chicory has pale blue flowers in ones, or threes, on the upper part of the tall, but zig-zag stem. The flowers are very close to the stem, pointing away from the stem and are dandelion-like, but have only ray florets, no disc florets in the centre. The colour of the flowers is at its best in the morning, and fades in the afternoon.

Chicory has many uses: the roots of Chicory are used, roasted and ground, as a caffeine-free coffee substitute sold as Chicory Coffee; the flowers are used to garnish salads; the buds are pickled and the leaves applied as a poultice for inflamation of the skin.

The flowers open in the morning and are heliotropic, following the sun, but close at midday when the sun is over-bright.

The leaves yield a blue dye, the flowers, paradoxically, a yellow dye.

SESQUITERPENE LACTONES Chicory contains within the milky fluid exuded by broken stems the allergenic Sesquiterpene Lactone, Lactucin, which tastes bitter and acts as a sedative and analgesic. It also contain the toxic Sesquiterpene Lactone Lactucopicrin otherwise known as Intybin. Both of these compounds can result in growers, handlers, pickers or grocers developing an allergic skin reaction to the vegetable Endives, better known as contact allergenic dermatitis (ACD). The same toxic principles are responsible for ACD in handlers of Artichokes (Cynara Scolymus), Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa) and of course Chicory. Lactucopicrin is a bitter substance that has both a sedative and analgesic effect, acting upon the CNS.

COUMARINS Chicory contains the glycosidic coumarin variously called Cicoriin or, more rarely, Chicoriin, which is a 6-hydroxy-7-glucoside of coumarin chemically not dis-similar to Daphnin. Chicory also contains the Coumarin Aesculetin which helps to prevent liver damage caused by an over-dose of Paracetamol. Aesculetin is thus anti-hapatotoxic, which may explain the folklore use of Chicory for liver damage. An alternative name for Aesculetin is Cichorigenin, named after the latin name for Chicory.

Chicoric Acid (or di-caffeoyl-tartaric acid, a phenyl-propanoid) was first discovered in Chicory, hence the name, but its concentration is higher in Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a garden plant. It also occurs in the leaves of Dandelion, Basil, Lemon Balm and in Sea Grasses. It is dimeric and symmetrical, consisting of two units of Caffeic Acid joined by a single Tartaric Acid (which is itself a dimer of Acetic Acid). Chicoric Acid energises the immune system making it attack pathogens more efficiently. It stimulates T-cell production, and increases the production of interferon and immunoglobin thereby helping wounds to heal. It also inhibits the penetration of virii into cells. It also stimulates phagocytosis; the engulfing of foreign particles by the membrane of cells, thus isolating a potential problem. Shown above are Caffeic Acid and Tartaric Acid (the di-hydroxy derivative of Succinic Acid) to show their relation to Chicoric Acid. Tartaric Acid occurs in many edible fruits but particularly in Grape, Banana and Tamarind. They are not necessarily present in Chicory.