My Favorite Roadside Weed - Chicory

Chicory - Cichorium intybus

Once, when I was about 20, I picked a bunch of roadside flowers for a bouquet. The bright blue flowers of chicory were particularly tempting, but I didn't realize the toughness of the woody stems. Picking them ripped up my hands, as the roadside collection trip was a spur-of-the-moment whim. To my disappointment, the blossoms only lasted a few hours, falling from the stems. Since that time, I have be happy to simply enjoy the flowers creating a blue stripe along roadsides and highways.

Native of Europe, the roots of chicory have been used as a coffee substitute. Not liking coffee, I have not tried it.

These particularly blue flowers were "captured" at Ha Ha Tonka State Park along Highway D near a parking lot on July 21, 2021.

Nettle-Leaf Vervain - Verbena utricifolia

The leaves of this verbena do resemble those of the stinging nettle, but without the sting. The flowers are minute and adorable.

Captured at Rocky Point Glade in Swope Park July 12th, 2021

Dillen's Tick Clover - Desmodium perplexum

A trip to Swope Park's Rocky Point Glade revealed a forest understory full of this pretty tick-clover (Desmodium perplexum). Captured 7/12/2021 at Rocky Point Glade.

The leaves are clustered at the bottom of the plant in a basal rosette. The leaves are made up of three leaflets.

Pretty pale-pink pea-shaped flowers.

The seeds covered in hooked hairs that allow them to stick onto the fur of animals and the socks of hikers.

Pretty in Pink