What is this flower?

Besides being a keen gardener, I also have strong ties with botany and our wild flowers. Last year, while doing some research in a village near me, I saw this flower growing wild at the side of a track. Iâ??ve tried my best to discover what it is, but its identification has beaten me. Can anyone help me, please? :wink:

 

I think its chickory.

 

Thanks Pete, I thought of this as a possibility, however, the leaf of Chicory is not clasping, and the stamens are much darker. Any other suggestions out there?

 

Keep getting " page not found " when trying to access the pics.

 

It could be a species of Lactuca (wild lettuce), though not too sure about it.
Did the leaves or stems exude any white sap when cut?
Lactuca perennis has very similar flowers, but those leaves don't look quite divided enough.

 

I would say chicory too.
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/cicin.htm

 

Took these pics this morning, I know its no help in ID ing it, but its surely quite widespread.

 

Thank you all for your replies. For several months, this specimen has proven to be quite a mystery to me. I agree that it looks like Chicory, however, my specimen has but a single flower head on it, a stalk that is more than a metre in length, but it is not multi-flowered towards the tip of the florescence. Chicory also has darker stamens and much wider petals that also seem to be shorter in their length. The leaves are also different from each other.

I had hopefully assumed that I could identify it from both flower and leaf type, and since there were only a few at the location, I preferred not to cut it just to prove a further point towards its identity. Yes, the lettuce family is close enough to make me think twice about it, since it is very similar to Lactuca perennis, Blue Lettuce. The problem I have with this, itâ??s not a British plant and nor is it tall either. Is there any possibility that it is either : a cross between two flowers. Or perhaps a garden variety of some kind?

Thanks for your latest photo, Pete. Here in the Peak District, Chicory is a very rare plant. As I have said, there is only a single flower on each stem present.

 

My first pic was taken at the top of a hill on dry soil.
The plant was about a foot tall.

The last pic was taken at the bottom of the hill where the soil is much damper.
These plants were four foot at least.
It was early morning and the sun was yet to reach the flowers lower down, so they appear a darker blue and closed.

All I'm saying is, could it be a variable, due to the growing conditions.

 

Thanks, Pete. I'm open to any suggestion on this, and if it is a variant, then I'm even more pleased than ever.:yho:

 

I think it is flax.

 

Thanks for helping me. Iâ??m going to have to rest on this one, mainly because I need to go and take a look at the plant again. Everyoneâ??s arguments for it being Chicory are indeed compelling, but I have this niggling doubt. I need to take more photos and check the leaf layout at the base of the plant. And if there is no other way, I'll cut the stem to see what it's like.:thmb: