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New plant species for Kootenay National Park
By Larry Halverson
Friends of Kootenay
On August 20, a single Chicory plant was found growing at the Kootenay View Point. This exotic plant was introduced from Europe and is now naturalized in North America. It grows in the drier parts of B.C. in fields, roadsides and waste places. Over the years Chicory has been spreading northward in the Rocky Mountain Trench. They are normally found at lower elevations averaging around 600 meters. So this new sighting at the viewpoint may also be a new elevation record at 1,365 meters.
Bill Merilees, former Kootenay Park Naturalist and author of Trees, Shrubs & Flowers to Known in British Columbia & Washington, says “the name chicory is familiar to many through the use of it’s deep taproot as a coffee substitute.”
Above photo: Chicory is also called Blue Sailors – by Larry Halverson
