Willowleaf Lettuce
Lactuca saligna
Its leaves often align north-south to avoid the intense midday sun, earning wild lettuces the nickname 'compass plants'.
- Scientific name
- Lactuca saligna
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Asterales › Asteraceae › Lactuca
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Dry open fields, roadsides, coastal shingle, and disturbed ground.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis, drawing water and minerals from soil)
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, North America, Australia
- Size
- 30 to 100 cm tall
- Lifespan
- 1-2 years (annual or biennial)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss due to intensive agriculture, urbanization, and over-clearing of ruderal sites.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This plant is safe to observe and touch. It exudes a bitter, milky white latex when damaged, which can cause mild skin irritation in sensitive individuals; wash skin with soap and water if contact occurs. Do not ingest.
Lactuca saligna is a species of wild lettuce known by the common name willowleaf lettuce , and least lettuce . It is native to Eurasia but it grows in many other places as an introduced species, including much of North America.
Photo: zebedeugalinha, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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