Lactuca serriola
Asteraceae
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: Early Spring, Mid Spring, Late Spring, Early Summer, Mid Summer, Late Summer
- Flower Form: Chicory Tribe, Composite
- Life Cycle: Annual, Biennial
- Height: 2–5 feet
- Habitat: Disturbed, Meadow
- Found In: Mt. Rainier NP, N Cascades NP, Olympic NP
- Native: No
