Also Called: Canada wild lettuce, tall lettuce. Stems: Erect, solitary, multi-branched above, glabrous or rarely coarsely-hairy, somewhat waxy, often purple-spotted; latex brown.
Is wild lettuce spiky?
Wild lettuce is a cousin to cultivated lettuce, but it grows as a weed. It’s sometimes called a bitter herb because of its sharp flavor. Wild lettuce also has a noxious or unpleasant smell, and it forms wavy leaves with prickly hairs underneath.
What does wild lettuce plants look like?
Wild lettuce features a bright-green appearance and varies anywhere between 60–200cm in height. Those looking to identify the plant in the wild can often do so by taking a closer look at the leaves. They are oblong and lance-shaped and possess fine teeth-like ridges on the edges.
How do you tell the difference between dandelion and wild lettuce?
The difference is that wild lettuce leaves are not as indented as the leaves of dandelions, and their leaves are broader and more oval. There are some prickles on the lower parts of wild lettuces. Flowers: Wild lettuce flowers look a lot like dandelion flowers.
Does wild lettuce have prickly stem?
The leaves are larger at the base of the plant and smaller as they move up the stalk. Wild prickly lettuce has a distinctive line of spines or prickles on the underside of the leaves, running up the midvein. The leaves themselves are slightly prickly, mainly underneath.
What is the spiky lettuce called?
Arugula
Arugula (a.k.a. rocket) has dark green leaves and a peppery flavor. The leaves can be long and spiked or shorter and more rounded, but they all share that dark green color. Wild-harvested arugula is the most pungent; look for it at farmers markets and local foods co-ops.
Can you eat a prickly lettuce?
Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The young tender leaves are mild and make an excellent salad, but the whole plant becomes bitter as it gets older, especially when it flowers. Young shoots can be cooked and used as an asparagus substitute. It is highly adviseable to eat only smalll quantities.
How do you identify prickly lettuce?
Leaves are egg shaped, deeply lobed or unlobed, have prickly edges, have a row of prickly bristles on the lower midvein, and are alternate to one another along the stem, clasping it. Prickly lettuce has much stiffer bristles on the lower midvein than in other Lactuca species.
Is milkweed and wild lettuce the same?
The lookalikes of wild lettuce include dandelion, and milkweed, although both of these plants are edible. An extremely toxic lookalike called horse nettle could be mistakenly identified as wild lettuce.
Is Woodland lettuce the same as wild lettuce?
Lactuca floridana, the woodland lettuce, is a North American species of wild lettuce.
When should you harvest wild lettuce?
In the late summer, between the months of late July and late August, is the best time to harvest wild lettuce (note: flowers will not bloom until the plant’s second year). Harvest when flowers are in bloom, as by that point the wild lettuce will have had time to mature and build up the medicinal sap.
Are dandelion leaves furry?
Botany. The leaves, which may grow up to eight inches (20 cm) long, are lobed and covered in coarse hairs, forming a low-lying rosette around a central taproot. Forked stems carry bright yellow flower heads, and when mature these form seeds attached to windborne “parachutes”.
Are there any poisonous dandelion look alikes?
The common dandelion has no poisonous lookalikes. You can use other similar but less widespread Taraxacum species the same way you’d use the common dandelion.
What lettuce looks like dandelion?
As its name suggests, prickly lettuce is known for the bristly prickles that line the edges and the prominent white midvein on the undersides of its dandelion-like leaves. The stalkless, blue-green leaves clasp the stem.
How do you get rid of prickly lettuce?
Chemical: Rosettes of prickly lettuce can be controlled in the fall or spring by non-selective herbicides containing glyphosate, glufosinate, or paraquat, however, populations of prickly lettuce are extremely tolerant of glyphosate herbicide.
Is prickly lettuce the same as milk thistle?
Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce, milk thistle (not to be confused with Silybum marianum, also called milk thistle), compass plant, and scarole, is an annual or biennial plant in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae.
Where is prickly lettuce found?
Range & Habitat: The adventive Prickly Lettuce is a common plant that occurs in every county of Illinois (see Distribution Map). It is native to Eurasia. Habitats include abandoned fields, fence rows, areas along railroads and roadsides, vacant lots, dumps, and miscellaneous waste areas.
What are the 4 main types of lettuce?
Lettuce varieties are placed in one of four categories: butterhead, crisphead, loose-leaf and Romaine.
What are the different types of wild lettuce?
Wild lettuce
- Lactuca canadensis (North America)
- Lactuca ludoviciana (NW America)
- Lactuca serriola (Southern Europe)
- Lactuca quercina (Eurasia)
- Lactuca floridana (North America)
What plant is a natural painkiller?
Much like the marijuana plant, herbs such as arnica, bromelain, and evening primrose oil can also provide pain-relieving effects.
What does wild lettuce taste like?
Description/Taste
Wild lettuce also produces orange blossoms that resemble that of a dandelion, with multiple flowers occurring on each plant. Wild lettuce is tender with a mild, earthy flavor.