Lactuca serriola L.
prickly lettuce
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
prickly lettuce
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Biennial or winter annual herb from a fibrous root; stems erect, branched above, solitary, glabrous, exuding milky juice when broken, 0.3-1.5 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, prickly on the underside midrib, finely so on the margins, pinnately lobed or sometimes lobeless, twisted at the base to lie in a vertical plane, arrow-shaped, clasping, mostly 5-30 cm long, 1-10 cm wide.
Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, numerous in a rounded inflorescence; involucres 10-16 mm tall; involucral bracts linear-lanceolate, irregularly graduated in 4 series; ray flowers yellow, often drying to blue, 13-47.
Fruits:
Achenes prominently nerved, grey or yellowish, 6-7 mm long with the slender beak 1-2 times as long as the body, compressed; pappus whitish.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Lactuca serriola
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
752 | 213 | 1193 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
27 | 0 | 70 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
226 | 26 | 356 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
39 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BG | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(11), CWH(2), ICH(8), IDF(7), PP(7), SBS(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry roadsides, fields and waste places in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common throughout S BC; introduced from Europe.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Lactuca scariola