Editing Chicory (section)

==Description==
When flowering, chicory has a tough, grooved, and more or less hairy stem. It can grow to {{Convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} tall.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Elias|first1=Thomas S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244766414|title=Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods|last2=Dykeman|first2=Peter A.|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing|Sterling]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9|location=New York|pages=115|oclc=244766414|orig-year=1982}}</ref> The [[leaves]] are stalked, [[lanceolate]] and unlobed; they range from {{Convert|7.5-32|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} in length (smallest near the top)<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Spellenberg |first=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalaudubons00spel/page/366/ |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region |publisher=Knopf |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-375-40233-3 |edition=rev |pages=366 |orig-date=1979}}</ref> and {{Convert|2-8|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} wide.<ref name=":0" /> The flower heads are {{Convert|3-5|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} wide,<ref name=":0" /> and usually light blue<ref name=":1" /> or lavender; it has also rarely been described as white or pink.<ref name=":0" /> Of the two rows of [[involucral bract]]s, the inner is longer and erect, the outer is shorter and spreading. It flowers from March until October.<ref name=":1" /> The seed has small scales at the tip.<ref name=":1" />

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Cichorium endiva.jpg|Leaves unlobed and pointed
|Cichorium intybus-alvesgaspar1.jpg|Flower close-up
|Cichorium intybus, white form, 2023-08-27, Etna, 01.jpg|White form
}}


Substances which contribute to the plant's bitterness are primarily the two [[sesquiterpene]] [[lactone]]s, [[lactucin]] and [[lactucopicrin]]. Other components are [[aesculetin]], [[aesculin]], [[cichoriin]], [[umbelliferone]], [[scopoletin]], 6,7-dihydro[[coumarin]], and further sesquiterpene lactones and their [[glycoside]]s.<ref>Harsh Pal Bais, GA Ravishankar (2001) Cichorium intybus L – cultivation, processing, utility, value addition and biotechnology, with an emphasis on current status and future prospects. ''Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture'', 81, 467–484.</ref> Around 1970, it was discovered that the root contains up to 20% [[inulin]], a [[polysaccharide]] similar to [[starch]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}