Willowleaf Lettuce

Lactuca saligna is an annual herb growing from a taproot to heights of 0.5–1 m (1+1⁄2–3+1⁄2 ft), and occasionally taller. It is much slenderer than great lettuce Lactuca virosa and prickly lettuce Lactuca serriola. The spindly, mainly erect stem has bristles on its lower portion. The leaves are very long and narrow, up to 15 cm (6 in) long but rarely than 1 cm (1⁄2 in) wide, usually with no lobes and no teeth. The top part of the stem is occupied by a narrow inflorescence. The branches may be pressed against the main stem, or they may branch outward. The flower head is up to about 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) wide when open, with rectangular pale yellow ray florets with toothed tips. There are no disc florets. The fruit is a spiny-ribbed dark brown achene (or cypsela) almost 1 cm (1⁄2 in) long with a long white pappus. Lactuca saligna flowers from July to August in Britain.