Common name:
Prickly lettuce
Family:
Scientific name:
Lactuca serriola
Main flower color:
Range:
The southern half of England
Height:
Up to 120 cm
Habitat:
Waste ground, verges, railways
Flowers:
The inflorescence is an open cluster of upwards-pointing flowerheads, formed of around a dozen yellow ray-like florets, and a slender, elongated involucre lined by several rows of hairless phyllaries; long and narrow above, broader and shorter below. Phyllaries are often purple towards the tip
Leaves:
Greyish-green, hairless, lanceolate to oblong, with small, sharp teeth along the margins and on the lower surface of the (whitish) midvein. Upper stem leaves are unlobed along the margins though those lower down are pinnatifid. Leaf bases taper to a pair of sharp lobes, either side of the attachment point
Season:
July to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
