Common roadside chicory vs. Root chicory

Into the wild blue Shuswap country...

Up to visit the folks a couple weeks ago and the wild chicory is in summer bloom, as if an impressionist painter in a Cerulean Blue Period swept a brush along the roadsides.

When a plant appears this beautiful but 'weedy' I like to find out if it has some use...and of course chicory root is a well-known coffee substitute or flavour enhancer.  I'd never known anyone to dig it up and use it however--maybe because it grows on relatively polluted roadsides...or maybe because it is only one of many versions of the genus Chicorium.

So I did some research and it appears, according to various sources such as Ontario Agriculture and intrepid wild-crafting bloggers, that a coffee-substitute-loving person can dig up the roots of  common chicory (Chicorium intybus) in the fall and dry them for grinding and brewing.

In the spring, the new leaves can also be gathered and used as greens. (One is advised to gather them in less travelled areas.)

However, there is also a form of chicory that has been specifically developed for the root: Chicorium intybus var. sativum. Here are some pictures (right and below) borrowed from an Ontario Agriculture website, of the substantial leaves and roots of Root Chicory...  This is the variety that is cultivated and makes root-gathering really worth your while.

And there are also all those leafy vegetables like endive and radicchio that are closely related and confuse the issue further.
I am content to clarify the coffee-chicory question. So. Back to the blue blue Shuswap.