chicory

Chicory flowers blossoming.

Allyn pointed out something to me the other day. She said that the chicory blossoms could only be found along roadsides, That it doesn't seem to appear and grow in fields the way most other plants do. I hadn't noticed that. Full disclosure, I haven't noticed much about chicory over the years. I have been doing a version of this blog for over 14 years. I have taken hundreds of photos of wildflowers which Blogger saves for me. Today I went through my old photos and could not find one photo that I had ever taken of chicory. I had to go out today and take a photo to include in this posting. Truth be told, for me, the line between wildflower and weed has always been a very thin one in relation to the chicory plant. 

It was at this point that I decided to get a fuller understand of this very modest yet ubiquitous member of the current floral landscape. Wikipedia says that chicory leaves are often used in salads, and that its root can be used as a substitute for coffee. Inulin is an ingredient that comes from chicory that is often used in food manufacturing as a sweetener or dietary fiber. There are three cultivated varieties of chicory: Ridiccio, Sugarloaf, and Belgian Endive. Chicory roots are an excellent substitute for oats for horses. It is also used to make Korean chicory tea. There is more, but I'll stop here. 

This may seem like a leap, but there is a real lesson for me here. There is much to value in relation to this plant that I never realized. This lack of appreciation came out of my ignorance and "prejudging" the plant because of how it looks and otherwise appears. Is it a weed or is it a wildflower? This human tendency to make snap judgements about people and things based on their appearances is such a dangerous characteristic. It has lead to suffering, pain and death all through recorded history, certainly right up through this present moment. I am grateful for this opportunity to view ignorance and prejudice residing in my own heart, and hopefully learning from it. I will never see chicory in the same way ever again.