Chicory

This is the first flower from my Italian Dandelion experiment.  I have raved about the chicory plant before, as I love harvesting the tender young leaves as salad greens or to spice up vegetable tea or float in a broth. 

But until now I had not had a chance to let the plants mature and bloom.   My goal here, aside from getting to see the pretty flowers, is to grow my own seed to plant and start the cycle again.  

The flower stems on this small plant are amazing, because the stalk is easily a foot taller than the foliage.  Seeing this, the common name of Blue Sailors begins to make sense, although it is more often known as cornflower or coffeeweed. The botanical name is Cichorium intybus.

In addition to making an interesting coffee substitute, chicory roots contain inulin and are sometimes added to yogurt as a prebiotic.  Prebiotics are non-digestible parts of food which stimulate beneficial bacterial activity in the digestive system.