Plant Name
Scientific Name: Lactuca serriola
Synonym: Lactuca scariola
Common Names: Prickly Lettuce, China Lettuce, Wild Lettuce
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual, Biennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized weed is native to Europe.
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain, Riparian
Flower Color: Pale yellow rays
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Height: To 5 feet (1.5 m) tall
Description: The flower heads are at the tips of the branched stems. The individual flower heads are 1/2 inch (13 mm) wide and have no disk flowers, only square-tipped, pleated, toothed rays. The leaves clasp the stems, decrease in size up the stems, are toothed to coarsely lobed, and have distinctive spines along the lower side of the whitish midrib. There are also spines along the edges of the larger leaves. The stems are upright, branched, and spiny. Broken leaves and stems will ooze milky white sap.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus: Lactuca L. – lettuce
Species: Lactuca serriola L. – prickly lettuce
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