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Chicory

Chicory is a bushy, perennial herb with blue or lavender flowers.

Root chicory has been in cultivation in Europe as a coffee substitute for a long time. The roots are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute.

Chicory may be grown for its leaves, eaten raw as a salad.

The leaves of many varieties are eaten green, but some are grown in complete darkness to keep the new leaves tender and pale

It has a slightly bitter taste and has been attributed with herbal properties.

It grows as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America, where it has become naturalized.

Chicory is variously used as a tonic and appetite stimulant, and as a treatment for gallstones, gastro-enteritis, sinus problems and cuts and bruises.