Indian lettuce (Lactuca indica) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Indian lettuce is a tall wild lettuce with pale yellow flowers and lower leaves that can be deeply cut. Its upper leaves are smaller and less divided, and its documented wild range lies in East and Southeast Asia, outside the United States. Its leaves are grown as a vegetable in parts of Asia.

Appearance

Growth form: This annual or biennial herb grows about 1.3–6.6 ft (0.4–2 m) tall, with a straight stem that branches near the top.
Leaves: The leaves can be narrow and nearly entire or deeply cut into backward-pointing lobes. Upper leaves are smaller and usually less divided.
Flowers: Many small flower heads form a loose cluster at the top of the plant. Each head is made of pale yellow strap-shaped .
Fruit: Each flattened, dark has a narrow beak and a white .

Look-alikes

prickly lettuceLactuca serriola

Prickly lettuce has a conspicuous row of prickles on the center vein underneath the leaf. Indian lettuce is glabrous and lacks that stiff prickly row.

Why they get mixed upBoth are tall wild lettuces with branching sprays of small yellow flower heads.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: fields and roadsides
forest margins
grasslands and disturbed ground
Range: It grows wild from southeastern Siberia through East and Southeast Asia.
Preferred conditions: Across its native range it grows in sunny open ground as well as forest edges, thickets, valleys, and fields.

Life cycle

Seed dispersal: The pappus acts like a small parachute and carries the fruit on the wind.

Growing it

Propagation: The species reproduces by seed.

Name and classification

About the name: Pterocypsela indica is an older name for Lactuca indica.
Varieties and forms: Leaf shape is extremely variable. Plants with narrow, undivided leaves have sometimes been named as form indivisa.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: The leaves are grown as a vegetable in parts of Asia.

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