Description: Annual to perennial taprooted herbs; hairs glandular and non-glandular, minute; stems branched, rigid.
Basal leaves forming a rosette, runcinate-pinnatifid to toothed; cauline leaves smaller, becoming reduced and stem-clasping up the stem.
Heads sessile or pedunculate, axillary and terminal, cylindrical; involucral bracts 2-seriate, outer shorter, herbaceous, bases thickened and hard, with long glandular hairs or glabrous; receptacle flat, naked, pitted, margins of pits simple to fimbriate. Florets all ligulate, bisexual, fertile, broad-linear, toothed.
Achenes obovoid, ± angular, truncate; pappus 1 or 2 rows of minute scarious scales.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 9 species, northern Africa, Europe & Asia. Australia: 2 species (naturalized), all States except N.T.
Text by L. Murray Taxon concept:
| Key to the species | |
1 | Basal leaves usually deeply pinnatisect; margins deeply dissected, curled and toothed; pappus scales c. 1 mm long | Cichorium endivia |
| Basal leaves toothed to pinnatisect, margins toothed, not dissected and curled; pappus scales minute | Cichorium intybus |
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