CICORIUM, succory; a genus of the polygamia æqualis order, belonging to the syngenesia class of plants.

Species. 1. The intybus, or wild succory, grows naturally by the sides of roads, and in shady lanes in many places of Britain. It sends out long leaves from the roots, from between which the stalks arise, growing to the height of three or four feet, and branching out into smaller ones. The flowers come out from the sides of the stalks, and are of a fine blue colour. They are succeeded by oblong seeds covered, inclosed in a down. 2. The spinosum, with a prickly forked stalk, grows naturally on the sea-coasts in Sicily, and the islands of the Archipelago. This sends out from the root many long leaves which are indented on their edges, and spread flat on the ground; from between these arise the stalks, which have very few leaves, and those are small and entire: these stalks are divided in forks upward, and from between them come out the flowers which are of a pale blue colour and are succeeded by seeds shaped like those of the common forts. The ends of the smaller branches are terminated by star-like spines which are very sharp. 3. The endivia, or succory with broad crenated leaves, differs Cichorium from the wild fort in its duration, being only annual, whereas the wild fort is perennial.

Culture, &c. The last species may be considered both as an annual and biennial plant. If sown early in the spring, or even any time before the beginning of June, the plants very commonly fly up to feed the same summer, and perish in autumn. If sown in June and July, they acquire perfection in autumn, continue till the next spring, then shoot up stalks for flower and seed, and soon after perish. The inner leaves are the useful parts. These when blanched white to render them crisp and tender, and reduce them from their natural strong taste to an agreeably bitter one, are then fit for use. They are valued chiefly as ingredients in autumn and winter salads, and for some culinary uses. The principal season of them is from the latter end of August till Christmas or longer, according to the temperature of the season; though the curled kinds generally resist the frosts of our ordinary winters, and remain in tolerable perfection till March or April. They are propagated by seeds sown in an open spot of ground, from which the plants are to be removed into open beds or borders where they may remain to grow to full size. The season for sowing these seeds is from the beginning of June to the end of July; and to have a regular supply of plants, it is proper to perform three different sowings at about three weeks or a month's interval. The great excellence of endive is to have its inner leaves finely whitened or blanched. They naturally incline to whiteness of themselves, but this may be greatly improved by art when the plants are arrived at full growth. Different methods are practised for this purpose, such as tying the leaves together; taking up the plants, and replanting them directly, almost to their tops, in ridges of dry earth, laying boards or tiles flat-ways on the top of the plants; but the first is found to answer the purpose most effectually. The proper time for beginning this work is, when the leaves are almost full grown; that is, when they are so far advanced that the leaves of the different plants interfere with one another, and their hearts are full and bulky; but they are not all to be tied up at once, only a due supply of the largest and farthest plants, once every ten or twelve days according to the demand; for the blanching takes up about three weeks. Blanching in ridges of earth, however, is sometimes practised in winter when a severe frost is setting in; for by burying them in the earth almost to their tops, they are more out of the power of the cold. In November or December, when hard weather is approaching, let a piece of light ground that lies warm, be trenched up in one or more sharp ridges two or three feet wide at bottom, and near as much in height, sidewise to the sun, making the sides as steep as possible, that the wet may run quickly off; then, in a dry day, take up a quantity of your full grown plants, with their roots entire, and diverting them of damaged leaves, gather each plant close in your hand, placing them horizontally in the sunny-side of the ridge of earth almost to their tops, and about six or eight inches each way distant. In severe frost, it will be proper to bestow some covering on the plants. Medicinal uses. The roots and leaves of the wild fennel, and seeds of the endive, are articles of the materia medica. The first has a moderately bitter taste, with some degree of roughness; the leaves are somewhat less bitter; and the darker coloured and more deeply jagged they are, the bitterer is their taste. Wild fennel is an useful detergent, aperient, and attenuating medicine, acting without much irritation, tending rather to cool than to heat the body; and, at the same time, corroborating the tone of the intestines. All the parts of the plant, when wounded, yield a milky saponaceous juice. This, when taken in large quantities, so as to keep up a gentle diarrhoea, and continued for some weeks, has been found to produce excellent effects in scrofulous and other chronic disorders. The qualities of the endive are nearly of the same kind. The seeds are ranked among the four lesser cold ones.