ΣΕΡΙΣ
Cichorium intybus
(Chicory)
Botanical info:
Chicory is a biennial herbal plant that grows typically 60 to 120 cm tall, from a basal rosette of edible leaves. It flowers in the summer season of the second year. It grows naturally in disturbed ground, and roadsides of Europe and northwest Africa.
Hippocratic legacy:
a. In Regimen 2:
a. Chicory promotes cooling.
Other uses:
The leaves are used in salads. The young blanched flowerheads are also a good vegetable for cooking, similar. The ground chicory is an ingredient for the adulteration of coffee. For this purpose, the thick cultivated root is sliced kiln-dried, roasted, and then ground. When infused, chicory is contra-stimulant, and serves to correct the excitation caused by coffee. Chicory root is tonic, laxative, and diuretic.