Chicory and Endive

Appears in

Published 2014

About

chicory and endive Cichorium intybus and C. endivia, two closely related plants whose common names are beset by much confusion, in French as well as English. It is convenient to treat them together, and to exhibit the common names in tabular form.

Chicory and endive both belong to the genus Cichorium, which in turn belongs to the large family Asteraceae which also includes lettuce, and many other edible plants, and also dandelion (whose leaves resemble those of wild chicory).

Scientific name	English	American	French
C. intybus (green)	chicory	chicory, sugarloaf	chicorée endive
C. intybus (blanched)	witloof, French endive	witloof chickory, Belgian endive, French endive	chicorée à grosses racines
C. intybus (red-leaved)	radicchio	radicchio red chicory	chicorée sauvage à rouge feuille
C. endivia (broad-leaved or batavian)	endive	endive, escarole, batavia, chicory	chicorée scarole
C. endivia (curly-leaved)	curly endive		chicorée frisée