Asteraceae

Lactuca serriola

Prickly Lettuce

Plant tall, erect, with milky sap. Stems prickly, bristled. Leaves oval, lobed or entire and prickly toothed, clasping stem. Lower leaves with spined midvein. Flower heads small, on widely spreading branches, containing 14–20 pale yellow ray-like flowers that quickly wither. Common weed in fields, along roads, other waste places, below 6500 ft. Lac means "milk," referring to the sap characteristic of this genus. The lettuce-like leaves are very bitter.

• Rarity: Common
• Flowering Time: All Spring And Summer
• Life Cycle: Annual, Biennial
• Height: 2--5 feet
• Habitat: Meadow, Disturbed
• Found In: Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, N Cascades Np
• Native: No