# woodland lettuce

*Lactuca floridana*

The delicate flower heads of this wild lettuce open only for a few hours during the morning, closing tightly by afternoon to protect their pollen.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Asterales › Asteraceae › Lactuca
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Moist deciduous woodlands, rich forest borders, thickets, and partially shaded valleys.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis requiring sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- **Range:** Eastern United States, Central United States, Southeastern Canada
- **Size:** 1 to 2.5 meters (3 to 8 feet) tall
- **Lifespan:** 1 to 2 years (annual or biennial)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss from urban development, competition from aggressive invasive plant species, and indiscriminate herbicide spraying.
- **Safe to approach?:** Woodland lettuce is harmless to touch, but its stems secrete a bitter, milky latex sap that can cause mild skin irritation in sensitive individuals. It is safe to observe from any distance. Do not ingest wild plants without expert identification. If sap contacts skin, wash the area with soap and water.

## About

Lactuca floridana , the woodland lettuce , 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 and Manitoba south as far as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/6c31fb2d-6d8c-47ef-8f85-f761e0cc78a1
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/130990
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactuca floridana
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/10061160/medium.jpeg (Jennifer Harris, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.