Wondering what those purple flowers are?

If you look around Burlington County right now, in highway medians, roadside ditches, maybe even in your own yard, you'll notice an abundance of blue to purple flowers on tall, slender, almost woody stalks.  These are chicory (Cichorium intybus) flowers.  Also known as blue sailors, coffeeweed, or succory, chicory, though considered by most to be a wildflower, has been named a noxious weed by the NJ legislature since its introduction to North America from its native home in Europe.  A perennial by virtue of a taproot, certain varieties of chicory are valued by many for an array of uses of its leaves and roots.  Wild chicory may be used for its bitter leaves in certain dishes but there are also several varieties that have been cultivated specifically for their leaves, such as Belgian endive (not to be confused with true endive, Cichorium endivia), radicchio, and sugarloaf.  Perhaps the best known use, especially of Cichorium intybus var. sativum, is of the root as a coffee additive or, particularly in times of economic hardship, as a coffee substitute.  The root is baked and then ground before use.  Other uses for chicory are of the roots as an additive to beer and as a medicinal treatment for intestinal parasites, or the entire plant may be used as forage for farm animals.

USDA PLANTS Profile for Cichorium intybus

Rutgers N.J. Weed Gallery - Cichorium intybus