Lettuce is an annual plant of the 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, 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. As of 2021, world production of lettuce and chicory was 27 million tonnes, 53 percent of which came from China.
Lactuca, commonly known as lettuce, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus includes at least 50 species, distributed worldwide, but mainly in temperate Eurasia.
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.
Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce, milk thistle, compass plant, and scarole, is an annual or biennial plant in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. 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.
Erigeron algidus is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name stalked fleabane.
Erigeron blochmaniae is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Blochman's erigeron and Blochman's leafy daisy.
Erigeron bloomeri is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name scabland fleabane.
Erigeron eatonii is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Eaton's fleabane.
Erigeron elegantulus is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae known by the common names blue dwarf fleabane and volcanic daisy.
Helianthus bolanderi is a species of sunflower known by the common names Bolander's sunflower and serpentine sunflower. It is native to California and Oregon, where it grows mainly in mountainous areas, often in serpentine soils. It has been found from southwestern Oregon as well as in northern and central California as far south as Santa Cruz County, with reports of a few isolated populations in southern California.
Hulsea heterochroma, commonly known as redray alpinegold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Hulsea nana is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name dwarf alpinegold. It is native to the western United States from Washington, Oregon, and far northern California.
Lactuca canadensis is a species of wild lettuce known by the common names Canada lettuce, Canada wild lettuce, and tall 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.
Heterotheca shevockii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Kern Canyon false goldenaster and Shevock's goldenaster. It is endemic to California in the United States, where it is known only from Kern County. It grows along a 21-mile stretch of the Kern River.
Blue lettuce, wild blue lettuce, or common blue lettuce can refer to:
Lactuca floridana, commonly known as woodland lettuce, Florida lettuce, or false lettuce is a North American species of wild lettuce. It is native across much of central Canada and the eastern and central United States.
Lactuca graminifolia, the grassleaf lettuce is a North American species of wild lettuce. It grows in Mexico, Central America, Hispaniola, and the southern United States from Arizona to Florida, Virginia and the Carolinas.
Lactuca hirsuta, the hairy 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, Québec, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia south as far as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.
Lactuca ludoviciana, the biannual lettuce, is a North American species of wild lettuce. It is widespread across much of central and western Canada and the western and central United States from Ontario west to British Columbia and south to Louisiana, Texas, and California. Most of the known populations are on the Great Plains; populations west of there may well represent naturalizations.
