Lactuca
Native
Lactuca biennis (Moench) Fernald - Tall Blue Lettuce
- (BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL-N NL-L) Vascan
- blue flowers, leaves irregularly pinnatifid, ; pappus brown, achenes nearly beakless2
- biennial2
- swampy or moist places; boreal forest 1
Lactuca canadensis Linnaeus - Canada Wild Lettuce
- (MB ON QC NB PE NS) Vascan
- yellow flowers
- rare, boreal forest 1
Lactuca floridana (Linnaeus) Gaertner - Woodland Lettuce
- (MB ON) Vascan
- blue flowers
- leaves petiolate, toothed and often also pinnatifid, pubescent on the underside of the main veins; pappus white 1
- margins of woods, boreal forest1
- rarely observed
Lactuca ludoviciana (Nuttall) Riddell - Western Lettuce
- (SK MB) Vascan
- yellow or blue flowers, leaves mostly pinnatifid, spinulose margined and more or less prickly on the mid-rib beneath and strongly glaucous, pappus white, achenes distinct soft filiform beak, 2
- along riverbanks, parklands1
- rarely observed
introduced
Lactuca serriola Linnaeus - Prickly Lettuce
- Vascan
- yellow flowers
- leaves copiously spinulose-denticulate, spinulose bristly on mid rib underneath and tending to turn with one edge up2
- very common; roadsides, slough margins, waste places, cultivated land; throughout Prairie provinces1
- previously known as Lactuca scariola
Mulgedium
Native
Mulgedium pulchellum (Pursh) G. Don - Blue Lettuce
- (BC AB SK MB ON QC) Vascan
- blue flowers
- leaves entire, lower leaves may be more or less lobed; pappus white, achenes with short firm beak2
- perennial2
- common...cultivated lands and roadsides, throughout Prairie provinces1
- previously known as Lactuca pulchella or Lactuca tatarica var pulchella
What I am going to try out
looks like habitat, flower color / number and leaves are the most helpful things - with a nod to the color of the pappus - that is the fluffy stuff attached to the seed to help it drift on the wind.
the prickly ones...
-
if the plant is in proximity to human disturbance and the flower is yellow and the leaves are turned to be perpendicular to the ground- edge to the sky >>> Lactuca serriola
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if the plant is along a river (or other damp to wet ground) and the flowers are yellow or blue >>> Lactuca ludoviciana (L ludoviciana tends to have more flowerheads (12-20) over L serriola (5-12))
the non-prickly ones....
- if the flowers are blue and the pappus is white and the upper leaves are entire and the plant is commonly seen >>> Mulgedium pulchellum / Lactuca pulchella (two names for the same plant)
- if the flowers are blue and the pappus is brown and the leaves are pinnatifid and the plant is in a wet spot in the boreal>>> Lactuca biennis (especially if the plant is 2 meters or taller)
- if the flowers are blue and the pappus is white and the leaves are pinnatifid and the plant is at a forest edge in the boreal>>> Lactuca floridana
- if the flowers are yellow >>>Lactuca canadensis
References
- Budd, A.C.; Looman, J., Best, K.F., Budd's Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces, 1979 Ottawa
- Scoggan, H.J, Flora of Manitoba, 1957 Ottawa
Posted on
August 16, 2021 02:45 PM
by
marykrieger
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