E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Lactuca serriola L.
prickly lettuce
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Paul Handford  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #68697)

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Distribution of Lactuca serriola
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Species Information

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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.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry roadsides, fields and waste places in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; common throughout S BC; introduced from Europe.

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)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 213 752 1193
Slope Gradient (%) 0 27 70
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		26 226 356
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		0 3 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 D
Number 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)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Lactuca scariola

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Asteraceae
 Flora North America treatment for Lactuca serriola
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-08 6:27:47 AM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
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