Lettuce is an annual plant of the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps; it can also be grilled. One variety, the woju (t:萵苣/s:莴苣), or asparagus lettuce (Celtuce), is grown for its stems, which are eaten either raw or cooked. In addition to its main use as a leafy green, it has also gathered religious and medicinal significance over centuries of human consumption. Europe and North America originally dominated the market for lettuce, but by the late 20th century the consumption of lettuce had spread throughout the world. World production of lettuce and chicory for 2017 was 27 million tonnes, 56% of which came from China.
Min is an ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in the predynastic period. He was represented in many different forms, but was most often represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis which he holds in his left hand and an upheld right arm holding a flail.
Lactuca, commonly known as lettuce, is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The genus includes at least 50 species, distributed worldwide, but mainly in temperate Eurasia.
Lactucarium is the milky fluid secreted by several species of lettuce, especially Lactuca virosa, usually from the base of the stems. It is known as lettuce opium because of its putative sedative and analgesic properties. It has also been reported to promote a mild sensation of euphoria. Because it is a latex, lactucarium physically resembles opium, in that it is excreted as a white fluid and can be reduced to a thick smokable solid.
Lactuca virosa is a plant in the Lactuca (lettuce) genus, often ingested for its mild analgesic and sedative effects. It is related to common lettuce, and is often called wild lettuce, bitter lettuce, laitue vireuse, opium lettuce, poisonous lettuce, tall lettuce, great lettuce or rakutu-karyumu-so.
Maror refers to the bitter herbs eaten at the Passover Seder in keeping with the biblical commandment "with bitter herbs they shall eat it.".
Lettuce mosaic virus (LMV) is a typical potyvirus, which causes one of the major virus diseases of lettuce crops worldwide.
Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce, milk thistle, compass plant, and scarole, is an annual or biennial plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. It has a slightly fetid odor and is commonly considered a weed of orchards, roadsides and field crops. It is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce.
Wild lettuce is a common name for several lactucarium-containing plants related to lettuce and may refer to:
Bremia lactucae is a plant pathogen. This microorganism causes a disease of lettuce denominated as downy mildew. Some other strains can be found on 36 genera of Asteraceae including Senecio and Sonchus. Experiments using sporangia from hosts do not infect lettuce and it is concluded that the fungus exists as a quantity of host-specific strains. Wild species, such as Lactuca serriola, or varieties of Lactuca can hold strains that infect lettuce, but these pathogens are not sufficiently common to seriously infect the plant.
The differential grasshopper is a species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is found throughout northern Mexico, the central United States and southern Ontario, Canada. It is considered a pest over most of its range.
Lactuca canadensis is a species of wild lettuce known by the common names, Canada lettuce, Canada wild lettuce, tall lettuce, and Florida blue lettuce. Its true native range is not clear, but it is considered to be a native of the eastern and central parts of North America. It naturalized in the western part of the continent as well as in Eurasia.
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.
Lactuca muralis, the wall lettuce, is a perennial flowering plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family, also referred to as Mycelis muralis (L.) Dumort.
A crop wild relative (CWR) is a wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant, whose geographic origins can be traced to regions known as Vavilov Centers. It may be a wild ancestor of the domesticated plant, or another closely related taxon.
Nabalus is a genus of Asian and North American flowering plants in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family.
Eucosma conterminana, the lettuce tortricid, is a moth of the family Tortricidae.
Lettuce is a leafy vegetable. The name is also applied to other related and unrelated plants. Including the leafy vegetable these are
China is the world leader in lettuce production, producing approximately half of the world's lettuce. Stem lettuce is grown in the country and the stems are prepared as a cooked vegetable. According to estimates given by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2006, China produced around 11,005,000 metric tonnes of lettuce on 500,250 hectares of land. In 2010, the FAO reported that some 12,574,500 tonnes of lettuce were produced during that year. Taiwan is also a producer of good quality head lettuce, which is an export commodity.
Lactuca quercina is a species of wild lettuce native to Europe and Asia. It is an annual or biennial herb in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family growing from a taproot to maximum heights of 50–200 cm (19.5–78.5 in) or more.
