Asteraceae
Daisy Family
Lactuca canadensis L.
- Stem: biennial; 3 ’-6’ tall; unbranched; smooth; with milky juice in the stem and leaves.
- Leaves: alternate; deeply, pinnately lobed with five to seven prominent teeth; 6” by 2”; sessile with small ears at the base; smooth above and below.
- Inflorescence: heads on branching flower stalks from the stem tip and upper leaf axils; stalks are short and heads are crowded when flowering begins, but as flowering and fruiting progress the inflorescence becomes the shape of an inverted cone, 1’ to 1 1/2’ long.
- Heads: only ray flowers; light yellow rays (sometimes white); head about 3/8” across; lance-shaped fillaries 5/16” tall; flowering from early July to mid-August.
- Fruits: “seeds” (fruits) flat, circular (1/16” in diameter) with 1/16” beaks topped by plumes 3/16” long; fruiting begins in mid-July.
- Habitat: common in disturbed places on prairies, on roadsides, and in open places to open woods; mostly in moist to mesic sites.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
