Lactuca canadensis (Wild lettuce)

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Lactuca canadensis L.

Wild lettuce, Canada lettuce

Wild lettuce is a widespread North American native.

Plants: 4–10′ (1.2–3 m) tall, with stems that are green or spotted with purple. The latex from a broken stem is brown.

Leaves: Leaves vary greatly in shape, and may resemble the shape of a sickle, or be long and narrow, or have wider and deep lobes. They are 6–14″ (15–35 cm) long.

Flowers: At the top, large cone-shaped panicles consisting of 50-100 flowers appear. Individual flowers are about ¼″ (8.5 mm) around, with 15-22 florets (tiny petals) each. They are yellow, pinkish-orange, or reddish.

Fruits: The achenes (seeds) are small and brown, each with a “parachute” attached, like dandelions.

Habitats: Woodland margins, clearings, near the edges of water, roadsides, pastures.

Edibility: Leaves are edible when cooked, but not especially desirable.

Some wild lettuce species.

Online References:

CalPhotos at the University of California, Berkeley

Illinois Wildflowers

Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

Wildflowers of the United States

Plants for a Future

Delaware Wildflowers

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

Flora of North America

Lactuca canadensis L. var. integrifolia (Bigelow) Torr. & A. Gray
Lactuca canadensis L. var. latifolia Kuntze
Lactuca canadensis L. var. longifolia (Michx.) Farw.
Lactuca canadensis L. var. obovata Wiegand
Lactuca canadensis L. var. typica Wiegand
Lactuca sagittifolia Elliott
Lactuca steelei Britton

6/22/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts

6/15/2012 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm)

7/15/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm)

7/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (33 × 47 cm)

7/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 5″ (13 × 13 cm)

7/9/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 15″ (29 × 37 cm)

7/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3″ (10 × 7.9 cm)

7/9/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 3″ (10 × 8.4 cm) ID is uncertain

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm) ID is uncertain

7/9/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 2½″ (9.8 × 6.6 cm)

8/12/2023 · Highlands Trail via Pismire Bluffs Trail, Raymond Community Forest, Raymond, Maine

8/28/2012 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

9/13/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 1 × 2′ (41 × 62 cm) ID is uncertain

8/28/2012 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm) ID is uncertain

6/15/2012 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm)

8/12/2023 · Highlands Trail via Pismire Bluffs Trail, Raymond Community Forest, Raymond, Maine

8/28/2012 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 14″ (23 × 35 cm) ID is uncertain

7/15/2012 · Gordon and Kathy’s, Prospect, Maine · ≈ 14 × 10″ (35 × 26 cm)

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 3½ × 3½″ (9.3 × 8.8 cm) ID is uncertain

8/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain

6/26/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm) ID is uncertain

7/9/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)

6/22/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Asteraceae	The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers
Genus	Lactuca	From lacta, Latin for “milk,” referring to the milky sap in stem, and a root word for lactic acid
Species	canadensis	“Of or referring to Canada”

About plant names...

Range:

About this map...

Lactuca canadensis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.