Cichorium spinosum

Cichorium spinosum is a perennial herb or subshrub, 5-15 cm tall, with flowering stems that are sulcate, glabrous, and spinescent. Leaves are narrowly obovate to runcinate, with petiole-like bases and lobes that are deltoid to oblong. The synflorescence consists of 1 to 5 heads, with 5-7 flowers per head. Involucral bracts are ovate to elliptic, with a pale midrib and a subacute apex. The corolla is ligulate, typically blue, with a ligule 9.0-12.0 mm long. Achenes are cylindrical to turbinate, glabrous, and minutely verrucose, with a white, short pappus. The species is native to the Mediterranean, including regions like Greece, Italy, Sicily, and Spain.