Chicory or Witloof chicory: how to tell them apart?
Chicory and Witloof chicory look alike and are often mixed up. Here is how to tell them apart, feature by feature, with their photos and the details to look for.
⚡ The quick answer
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
Witloof chicory
Cichorium intybus var. foliosum
It is the same species grown differently: wild chicory grows in full light with green, bitter leaves, whereas witloof chicory is the same plant forced in darkness to obtain its white, tightly packed heart.
🍃 Leaves
In a basal rosette, divided, somewhat rough; stem leaves smaller and entire
White to pale yellow, tightly packed into a compact, elongated heart (the chicon), smooth and crisp, obtained by forcing the root in total darkness
🌸 Flowers
Bright blue, ligulate, grouped in flower heads that open in the morning and close again in early afternoon
Light blue to blue flower head, similar to that of wild chicory, appearing on plants that have bolted (not to be confused with the commercial blanched vegetable, which is the forced root, not the flower).
🍎 Fruits
Achene topped with a small crown of scales
Achene topped with a small crown of scales
🪵 Bark
Perennial herbaceous plant with an upright stem, branched in its upper part.
Cultivated biennial herbaceous plant, forming a rosette of leaves then a flowering stem if it runs to seed.
📏 Size
30 cm to 1.2 m tall
20 to 40 cm as a rosette, up to 1 m in flower
🗺️ Habitat
Wasteland, track verges, dry meadows; also grown as vegetable varieties (witloof chicory, coffee chicory)
Grown in vegetable gardens, rich, deep soils
⚠️ Toxicity
Leaves edible, bitter; roasted root used as a coffee substitute
No known toxicity — leaves edible
🔎 And from the Witloof chicory side
It is the same species grown differently: wild chicory grows in full light with green, bitter leaves, whereas witloof is the same plant forced in darkness to obtain its white, tight heart.
🌿 Go further
Want to practise spotting these details on real photos? Floraneo offers profiles and quizzes for dozens of look-alike species.
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.