Thanks Prof. Singh ji for sharing this plant. This plant is found along roadsides especially in south of germany. It is a pionierplant. German name Wegwarte = waiting along the roadside. In 2009 it was the flower of the year in Germany. This action was introduced in 1979 by Ms. Loki (Hannelore) Schmidt, a botanist and wife of the old chancellor Mr. Helmut Schmidt in order to make people aware of an endangered flower. In the meanwhile we have a Tree of the year, Butterfly of the year, Bird of the year etc. I find this action worth emulating. Yes, Prof. Singh ji, the young leaves are cooked as vegetable here too. Old people tell that the dried roots were roasted to make coffee, especially after the war, when food was in general difficult to get. It was called "Mukafuk" Even today small kids get "Mukafuk" to drink, as coffee is not good for them. There are many leagends aroung this plant. The Blaue Blume is a symbol of romanticism and there are many folksongs about this Blaue Blume. Wiki says: It stands for desire, love, and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable. It was also believed to be able to open locked doors, so to say sesame.
Was very happy to see the fotos, as in north of germany, where i live, i don't see it any more. Thanks Prof. Singh ji. Regards Nalini ----- Original Message ----- From: Gurcharan Singh To: efloraofindia Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 3:07 AM Subject: [efloraofindia:42893] Cichorium intybus from Kashmir Cichorium intybus from Kashmir, growing as weed along roadsides, gardens, cultivated fields. We used to cook young leaves as vegetable along with Capsella, Taraxacum, etc. little knowing then that in other areas the dried and roasted roots are used for blending coffee. Also used in homoeopathy for liver and gall ailments. Photographed from Pampore karewas on June 20, 2010. Common names: English: Chicory, Wild endive Hindi: Kasni, Kashni -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
