Lactuca canadensis
Asteraceae
alternate
sessile
entire, dentate, lobed, pinnatifid
simple
linear, lanceolate, oblanceolate, obovate, ovate
forb
orange, yellow
June - October
0.3 - 3.0
Yes
Unarmed
native
annual, biennial
Warm season
FACU
-1
Similar to Lactuca floridana but has yellow flowers, while Lactuca floridana has blue flowers. Terminal lobes of leaf long and narrow. Hollow stem. Basal rosette the 1st year. Leaves highly variable.
The following information is for the genus Lactuca: Animals that eat the seeds: Goldfinch. Animals that eat the plant: Antelope, White-tailed deer (Martin et al. 1951).
The Cajun name for this plant, "laitue," is French for lettuce and refers to the fact that it has milky sap and is edible like lettuce (Holmes 1990). The young leaves can be cooked in one change of water to remove the bitter milk (Medsger 1966). Usually found in disturbed areas throughout Louisiana and east and central Texas.
Fields, waste places, and woods, infrequent in sandy soil, roadsides, pastures, waste places.