Great lettuce (Lactuca virosa) or greater prickly lettuce or wild lettuce as it is also known is a highly poisonous, narcotic, annual, sometimes biennialherb of the family Compositae with an erect leafy, white or reddish stem which branches at the top. The leaves are stiff, bluish-green in colour and have prickly toothed margins and a prickly midrib beneath. The basal leaves are stalked, oval and arranged in a rosette. The stem leaves are alternate, clasp the stem at their base and are held horizontally. The flowers are numerous, short-stalked and yellow. Great lettuce was formerly used as a narcotic before opium was discovered, and is still used to adulterate opium. Research Great Lettuce
Lactuca is a genus of plants belonging to the family Compositae. They are mostly natives of temperate regions, the most important species being
Lactuca sativa, the common lettuce. Research Lactuca
Lettuce is a popular name for members of the herbaceousgenusLactuca, of the family Asteraceae, family Compositae, particularly the garden lettuce, (Lactuca sativa). The genus is native to temperate regions of Eurasia and North America. The flowers, borne in panicled heads, produce feathered fruits called achenes. European wild, or prickly lettuce, (Lactuca scariola), is widely distributed throughout Europe and naturalized in the north-eastern USA. It has a slightly prickly stem, and the leaves have soft-prickled margins. European wild lettuce is thought by most botanists to be the parent species of garden lettuce. American wild lettuce, or horseweed, (Lactuca canadensis), is a smoother, leafier plant, native to temperate North America; it is common in thickets and damp borders of fields. Research Lettuce
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Great Lettuce
