Flora of North America species comparison

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Lactuca sativa

cultivated lettuce, garden lettuce
Habit Annuals or biennials, (15–)30–70(–100+) cm.
Leaves

on proximal 1/2–3/4 of each stem;

blades of undivided cauline leaves ovate to orbiculate, margins entire or denticulate, seldom prickly, midribs rarely prickly-setose.
Involucres

8–13+ mm.
Florets

7–15(–30+);

corollas yellow (sometimes streaked with violet), usually deliquescent.
Phyllaries

usually erect in fruit.
Heads

usually in corymbiform, sometimes in paniculiform, arrays.
Cypselae

bodies pale grayish to whitish or tan, ± flattened, obovate, 3–4 mm, beaks ± filiform, 3–5 mm, faces 5–9-nerved;

pappi white, 3.5–4+ mm.
2n

= 18.

Lactuca sativa
Phenology Flowering mostly Jul–Sep.
Habitat Disturbed sites, abandoned plantings
Elevation 10–1000 m (0–3300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CA; CT; DC; DE; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MO; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; VT; WA; WV; ON; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico; introduced or ephemeral nearly worldwide]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 19, p. 263.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Cichorieae > Lactuca
Sibling taxa
L. biennis, L. canadensis, L. floridana, L. graminifolia, L. hirsuta, L. ludoviciana, L. saligna, L. serriola, L. virosa
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 795. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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