Author: آمنه غلامی 
Cichorium intybus L.
Mohammad Ali Alizadeh, Masoumeh Ramezani Yeganeh, Mohammad Reza Pahlevani, Valiollah Mozaffarian and Saeedeh Mirzadeh Waqfi
Natural Resources Gene Bank, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Uploaded at October 2023
Scientific editor: Masoumeh Izadpanah and Parvin Salehi Shanjani
Seed Storage: The storage behavior of this species is orthodox (desiccation-tolerant seeds); dry to 8-10 % eRH and store at -18 °C.
Germination requirements
The seeds of this species have non-deep dormancy. Sterilize seeds before placing them on wet germination paper. Place seeds at 4 ºC for two weeks to germinate uniformly, then germinate under an alternating temperature regime of 15-20 ºC (the higher temperature for 16 hours of light and the lower one for eight hours of dark).
Morphology
Fruit/seed type: Achene
Fruit/seed shape: Obconic, indistinctly angular, apex truncate with scaly corona, surface longitudinally furrowed, lusterless, color pale-brown to clay
Fruit/seed size: Length 2.4-4.8 mm, width 1.6-2 mm, in an accession from Talesh, Gilan with 1000 fruit/seed weight 1.2 g, which was collected in 2003 by Ayub Babaie and the cultivated sample was identified by Valiollah Mozafarian and Saideh Sadat Mirzadeh Vaghefi with accession number 13219.
Average 1000 Fruit/seed weight: 0.4-2.5 g
Biological features
Life Form: Herbaceous, Perennial, height 5-100 cm, glabrous or densely covered with long bristle-like hairs
Inflorescence, flower type, and pollination mechanism: Inflorescence raceme-like, flowers bisexual, ray florets light blue. Plant monoecious, cross-pollinated. Pollination is carried out by both wind (anemophily) and insects (entomophily).
Time of flowering: April to June
Time of seed ripening: June to July
Seed dispersal methods: Natural agents (wind, insects, birds, and animals)
Geographical distribution: Europe and Asia. Typus from Europe
Distribution in Iran: North, Northwest, Northeast, West, East, Center, South, and Southeast, in the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Isfahan, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Khorasan, Kerman, Sistan, Tehran and Qazvin.
Taxonomy
Family: Composite
Genus: Cichorium
Species: C. intybus
Persian name: Kasni
References
Black, M. and Bewley, J.D. 2000. Seed technology and its biological basis. Sheffield Academic Press, 1-419 P.
Bojňanský, V. and Fargašová, A. 2007. Atlas of seeds and fruits of central and East-European flora: the Carpathian Mountains region. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1046 P.
Ghahraman, A. Flore of Iran. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands with University of Tehran Publication. https://floraofiran.net/index.php.
Mozaffarian, V.A. 2012. A pictorial dictionary of botany. Farhange Moaser publisher, Tehran, 1088 P.
Mozaffarian, V.A. 1998. Dictionary of Iranian Plants Names. Farhange Moaser Publisher, Tehran, 671 P.
Safavi, R., Naseh, Y., Gafari, A., Tavakoloi, Z. and Heidarnia, N., 2013. Flora of Iran, vol. 77: Asteracea, Tribe Cichorieae. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands Press, 547 P.
Sharma, O.P. 2009. Plant taxonomy 2E. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi, 563 P.
