Abundance: uncommon
What: young leaves, shoots, flower buds/stalks
How: leaves & shots raw or boiled; flower buds/stalks cooked
Where: woods, fields, disturbed areas, moist areas
When: spring
Nutritional Value: fiber, some minerals
Medicinal Summary:
Sap - sedative, cough suppressant; soothes chronic pain; anti-anxiety (tisane, tincture)
There are twelve different wild Lactuca species, of which I've only found three. These are Lactuca serriola (aka prickly lettuce), Lactuca canadensis, and Lactuca floridana. Lactuca floridana and Lactuca serriola are fairly common in the Houston area while Lactuca canadensis appears more frequently in areas north and east of Houston.
Lactuca canadensis. Note the lobed leaves at the base and unlobed leaves up higher.
Young Lactuca floridana. All leaves are lobed.
Mature Lactuca floridana.
Lactuca floridana flower.
Texas distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture. The marked counties are guidelines only. Plants may appear in other counties, especially if used in landscaping.
North American distribution, attributed to U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Both the tasty Lactuca canadenesis and the somewhat bitter Lactuca floridana can grow 7-9 feet tall.
Lactuca canadenesis Structural Features:
Leaf Arrangement: Leaves start out as basal rosette and deeply lobed when plant is young then grow alternating along the stem. Leaves higher up the stem are much less lobed than those at the base.
Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate, measuring 2 to 12 inches in length and 0.5 to 2 inches in width.
Leaf Venation: Pinnate veins system.
Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.
Leaf Color: Medium to dark green
Flower Structure: Many small (<0.5" diameter), flower heads arranged in clusters at the ends of stems.
Flower Color: The petals of the flower heads are yellow.
Fruit: The fruit consists of small achenes with a pappus (tuft of hairs) for dispersal.
Seed: Achenes are small and brown, often with a pappus attached.
Stem: The stem is erect, branching, and when damaged it produces white sap that very quickly turns yellow.
Hairs: Fine hairs/spines along rib on underside of leaf.
Height: Lactuca canadensis can reach heights of 4 to 9 feet.
Lactuca floridana Structural Features:
Leaf Arrangement: Leaves start out as basal rosette and then grow alternating along the stem. Leaves are deeply lobed in all positions and age.
Leaf Shape: The leaves are lanceolate to oblanceolate, measuring 2 to 12 inches in length and 0.5 to 2 inches in width.
Leaf Venation: Pinnate veins system.
Leaf Margin: The leaf margin is typically serrated or toothed.
Leaf Color: Medium to dark green
Flower Structure: Many small (<0.5" diameter), flower heads arranged in clusters at the ends of stems.
Flower Color: The petals of the flower heads are blue-white.
Fruit: The fruit consists of small achenes with a pappus (tuft of hairs) for dispersal.
Seed: Achenes are small and brown, often with a pappus attached.
Stem: The stem is erect, branching, and when damaged it produces white sap that very quickly turns yellow.
Hairs: Fine hairs/spines along rib on underside of leaf.
Height: Lactuca floridana can reach heights of over 14 feet.
How to tell them apart:
L. canadenesis
Leaves: deeply lobed at base of plant but much more un-lobed, grass-like at top of plant.
Sap: white at first but quickly turns dark yellowish as it dries.
Flowers: yellow.
Height: 5-9 feet
L. biennis
Sap: stays white even after drying.
Leaves: deeply lobed from base of plant all the way to those at top.
Flowers: blue-white.
Height: up to 16 feet.
The young leaves of L. canadenesis have a slight bitterness, even less than some arugulas, and can be added to salads raw. The flower stalks are tender before the flowers open and can be snapped off and cooked similar to asparagus.
L. biennis is extremely bitter even when very young. Boiling in multiple changes of water helps but most people still don't like it, plus that removes any minerals. On the plus side, the plants produce a LOT of leaves, so you can get a lot of food from it.
There is some record of wild lettuces being smoked for medicinal purposes but it is supposedly a very harsh smoke and must be mixed with other herbs to reduce this harshness.
Leaves: deeply lobed at base of plant but much more un-lobed, grass-like at top of plant.
Sap: white at first but quickly turns dark yellowish as it dries.
Flowers: yellow.
Height: 5-9 feet
L. biennis
Sap: stays white even after drying.
Leaves: deeply lobed from base of plant all the way to those at top.
Flowers: blue-white.
Height: up to 16 feet.
The young leaves of L. canadenesis have a slight bitterness, even less than some arugulas, and can be added to salads raw. The flower stalks are tender before the flowers open and can be snapped off and cooked similar to asparagus.
L. biennis is extremely bitter even when very young. Boiling in multiple changes of water helps but most people still don't like it, plus that removes any minerals. On the plus side, the plants produce a LOT of leaves, so you can get a lot of food from it.
There is some record of wild lettuces being smoked for medicinal purposes but it is supposedly a very harsh smoke and must be mixed with other herbs to reduce this harshness.
The sap is collected by pureeing the leaves and stem, squeezing out the juice through a tightly-woven fabric, then boiled down to a black, gooey tar. This tar contains the sedative/pain relieving compounds lactucin and lactucopicrin. The tar is usually taken by dissolving a pea-sized drop of it in a shot of alcohol.
Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.
Buy my book! Outdoor Adventure Guides Foraging covers 70 of North America's tastiest and easy to find wild edibles shown with the same big pictures as here on the Foraging Texas website.
