Lactuca hirsuta, the hairy lettuce,[3] is a North American species of wild lettuce. It is widespread across much of central Canada and the eastern and central United States from Ontario, Québec, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia south as far as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.[4]

Lactuca hirsuta
1913 illustration[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Lactuca
Species:
L. hirsuta
Binomial name
Lactuca hirsuta
Muhl. ex Nutt. 1818 not Franch. 1895
Synonyms[2]
  • Galathenium sanguineum (Bigelow) Nutt.
  • Lactuca sanguinea Bigelow
  • Lactuca villosa Torr. & A.Gray

Lactuca hirsuta is an biennial herb in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family growing from a taproot a height of up to 200 cm (79 in; 6.6 ft). The top of the stem bears a multibranched inflorescence with many flower heads. Each head contains 12–24 blue ray florets but no disc florets. The fruit is a brown achene.[5]

References

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  1. ^ illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 319.
  2. ^ The Plant List, Lactuca hirsuta Muhl. ex Nutt.
  3. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Lactuca hirsuta​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  5. ^ Flora of North America, Lactuca hirsuta Muhlenberg ex Nuttall, 1818.
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