Lactuca serriola

Lactuca serriola
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Lactuca
Species:
L. serriola
Binomial name
Lactuca serriola
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Lactuca altaica Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Lactuca augustana All.
  • Lactuca coriacea Sch.Bip.
  • Lactuca dubia Jord.
  • Lactuca integrata (Gren. & Godr.) A.Nelson
  • Lactuca latifolia Boiss.
  • Lactuca latifolia Gilib.
  • Lactuca scariola L.
  • Lactuca sylvestris Lam.
  • Lactuca tephrocarpa K.Koch
  • Lactuca verticalis Gaterau

Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce,[2] milk thistle[2] (not to be confused with Silybum marianum, also called milk thistle), compass plant,[2] and scarole,[2] 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.[3] It is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.).

Lactuca serriola is known as the compass plant because in the sun the upper leaves twist round to hold their margins upright.[4]

Lactuca serriola is native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa, and has become naturalized elsewhere.[2][5][6][7][8][9]

  1. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Lactuca serriola​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved April 2, 2012..
  2. ^ a b c d e "Lactuca serriola". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  3. ^ Everitt, JH; Lonard, RL; Little, CR (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 978-0-89672-614-7.
  4. ^ Blamey, Marjorie; Fitter, Richard; Fitter, Alistair (2003). Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland. London: A&C Black. pp. 294–5. ISBN 0-7136-5944-0.
  5. ^ Strother, John L. (2006). "Lactuca serriola". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 19. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  6. ^ Shi, Zhu; Kilian, Norbert. "Lactuca serriola". Flora of China. Vol. 20–21 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. ^ Flora Italiana, Lactuca serriola L. includes photos, drawings, European distribution map
  8. ^ Cabrera, A. L. 1978. Compositae. 10: 1–726. In A. L. Cabrera (ed.) Flora de la provincia de Jujuy. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Buenos Aires
  9. ^ Atlas of Living Australia