Cichorium endivia, Cichorium pumilum, Dwarf Chicory,
Hebrew: עולש מצוי, Arabic: علك ، هندباء برية, Egypt: سريس "Sireis", شيكوريا "Shikorya"

Scientific name:		Cichorium endivia (Schousb.) P. D. Sell
Synonym name:		Cichorium pumilum (Jacq.) Cout.
Common name:		Dwarf Chicory
Hebrew name:		עולש מצוי
Arabic name:		علك ، هندباء برية
Egypt:		سريس "Sireis", شيكوريا "Shikorya"
Plant Family:		Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים

Life form:		Annual
Stems:		Up to 170 cm tall, erect, glabrous or with some scattered hard hairs
Leaves:		Alternate, rosette, dissected once, dentate or serrate
Flowers:		Light blue
Fruits / pods:		Achene, obovoid to cylindrical, 2–3 mm × 1–1.5 mm, brown, with pappus of 1–3 rows of small, persistent membranous scales
Flowering Period:		April, May, June
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:		Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Cichorium, the Latinized version of the Arabic name for one of the species. endivia, from Late Latin endivia, from Late Greek entybion; probably of Eastern origin (perhaps from Egyptian tybi "January," which is when the plant grows in Egypt). pumilum, dwarfish, little; dwarf. The standard author abbreviation Schousb. is used to indicate Peder Kofod Anker Schousboe (1766 – 1832),a Danish botanist. The standard author abbreviation P. D. Sell is used to indicate Peter Derek Sell (1929 - 1996), an English botanist. The standard author abbreviation Jacq. is used to indicate Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727 – 1817), a Dutch scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. The standard author abbreviation Cout. is used to indicate António Xavier Pereira Coutinho (1851 – 1939), a Portuguese botanist. The Chicory and the Reichardia are representives of the group of 'Bitter Herbs', Maror, מרור, that are eaten at the Passover Seder. Maror never appears in the singular but rather as the plural merorim מרורים - it means "bitter herbs", from mar מר - "bitter". See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases. Bible resources: Exodus 12:8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Numbers 9:11 but they are to do it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Lamentations 3:15 He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink.