A. arvensis
         C. segetum
         C. spinosum
         P. dysenterica
         S. asper
         T. hybridum
         T. porrifolius

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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

  Veggie of the Month

Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Spiny Chicory (Cichorium spinosum) :: Horton :: 2001/07/07 :: © A.Papadopoulos Spiny Chicory (Cichorium spinosum) :: Horton :: 2001/07/07 :: © A.Papadopoulos No image! No image! No image!

Spiny Chicory

Cichorium spinosum

This is another exquisite, yet very common flower throughout the Mt. Pelion range and Greece. A member of the daisy family and closely related to the Chicory (Cichorium intybus), Cichorium spinosum is a densely and intricately branched subshrub, which forms mounds to 20cm (7 4/5 in), occasionally more. Stems are branched from the base, the upper non-flowering and spine like. Leaves are fleshy, somewhat elliptical, broadest above the middle, toothed or somewhat lobbed, mostly in the lower part of the plant. Flowers are blue, about 2.5 cm (1 in), almost stalkless, solitary or in clusters of 2 to 4. They are hermaphrodite, that is they have both male and female organs, and are pollinated by bees.

According to "Plants for a Future", the plant's leaves may be eaten, when boiled.

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Fact Sheet

Type of plant
Densely and intricately branched biennial/ perennial subshrub.

Flowering Season
June - October.

Known Hazards
None known.

Known Uses
Leaves are be edible, boiled. "Plants for a Future" rate it 2 out of 5 for edibility and 0 out of 5 for medicinal uses (min. 0, max. 5).

Habitat
Rock crevices, sandy places, generally coastal.

Distribution
Southern Spain, Balearic Islands, Italy, Sicily, Southern Greece, Aegean Islands, Crete and Cyprus.

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Taxonomy


Kingdom: Plantae (Plants); Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (Vascular plants); Superdivision: Spermatophyta (Seed plants); Division: Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants); Class: Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons); Subclass: Asteridae; Order: Asterales; Family: Compositae or Asteraceae (Daisy or Sunflower family); Genus: Cichorium; Species: spinosum

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Acknowledgments

The following sources have been used in preparing this page:

• BLAMEY, M., GREY-WILSON, C. 1993. Collins Guide to the Mediterranean Wild Flowers. Domino Books, Jersey. (See detailed review)
• "Plants for a Future"

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