The photographs, taken today, 06th July 2025 in a very large field, growing just this plant, was I thought at first possibly Linseed, which has a blue flower and is grown locally, Edenbridge, Kent England. But the flower is different. The height of each plant of these plants is variable, from about 2ft to possibly 6ft. Some plants have many leaves up the stem, some just a cluster at the bottom. The field is vast, I assume this is an agricultural crop? Any I.D. appreciated. Thank you
Snap. Last year I also found a field of pretty blue flowers...pics below. Near Atholl Castle/House of Bruar...Perthshire.Scotland UK. This year in the same field not one plant. I decided it was Cichorium intybus...chichory. I trust that I am correct. Quote www... AI Overview Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a versatile plant used in the UK as a green manure, particularly for its deep taproot that improves soil structure and drainage. It's also valued for its high protein content when used as forage and its potential to reduce worm burdens in grazing livestock" ....................................................................................................... There is another almost identical blue flower . Cicerbita plumieri ..common name blue sow thistle.
see above. P.S To see a fields of Linum usitatissimum..common name common flax is just a joy . Below is Cicerbita plumieri ..common name blue sow thistle.
The chichory was a substitute of coffee, its roots were roasted and something coffee like drink was brewed of the roast. Here it is pretty common weed in wheat fields. It sows by itself, so once you grew it you have to weed it out to get rid of it. I like its flowers and actually its roots are pretty tasty too, so I let it grow. I also use its leaves instead of lettuce, when I have no lettuce available yet. Leaves have a slightly bitter taste.
Pl@ntNet, based on photos 1,5 and 6, was betting 51.6% on Cichorium endivia, with Cichorium intybus getting 37.1%. BUT, when I added photo 4 to the query, it changed to Cichorium intybus at 54.5% and Cichorium endivia at 51.6%. Wikipedia has a lot to say about common chicory: Chicory - Wikipedia. My posting several years ago from the Food Garden at UBCBG isn't all that helpful, but there are some photos, fwiw: https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc....to-see-in-the-north-garden.94066/#post-366149
