Biennials, 15-150 cm. Leaves on proximal 1/2-3/4 of each stem; blades of undivided cauline leaves obovate or oblanceolate to spatulate, margins denticulate (piloso-ciliate), midribs usually piloso-setose. Heads in paniculiform arrays. Involucres 12-15+ mm. Phyllaries usually reflexed in fruit. Florets 20-50+; corollas usually yellow, sometimes bluish, usually deliquescent. Cypselae: bodies brown to blackish (usually mottled), ± flattened, elliptic, 4.5-5+ mm, beaks ± filiform, 2.5-4.5 mm, faces 1(-3)-nerved; pappi white, 5-7(-11) mm. 2n = 34. Flowering Jun-Sep. Openings in woods, stream banks, prairies; 100-1400 m; B.C., Man., Sask.; Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Minn., Mont., Nebr., N.Mex., N.Dak., Okla., Oreg., S.Dak., Tex., Utah, Wash., Wis., Wyo.
Leafy-stemmed biennial or possibly short-lived perennial, the stem glabrous, 3-15 dm; lvs prickly or coarsely hairy on the midrib and sometimes also on the main veins beneath, ±prickly-toothed on the margins and usually also pinnately lobed, mostly 7-30 נ3-20 cm; heads relatively large, with 20-56 yellow or occasionally blue or pale lilac fls; invol 15-22 mm in fr; achenes strongly flattened, blackish, with a median nerve on each face, transversely rugulose, 7-10 mm overall, the slender beak equaling or a little shorter than the body; pappus 7-10 mm; 2n=34. Prairies and other open places; w. Ind. to Man., Mont., Colo., and Tex., casually intr. eastw. July-Sept.
(L. campestris, the blue-fld form)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
FNA 2006, Kearney and Peebles 1969, Martin and Hutchins 1980
Duration: Biennial, Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Biennial with stout stems 15-150 cm tall, leafy. Leaves: Only on lower half to three quarters of stem, blades of undivided leaves obovate to oblanceolate and spatulate, margins spinulose denticulate, midribs usually pilose-setose; the base auriculate-clasping. Flowers: Numerous heads in an open panicle; involucres 12-15 mm, phyllaries usually reflex in fruit; florets 20-50, corollas usually yellow, sometimes bluish. Fruits: Dark brown to black cypselae, flattened, elliptic, 4.5-5 mm, with filiform beaks, faces 1-3 nerved, pappi white, 5-7 mm. Ecology: Found in openings in woods, along stream banks 3,000-5,500 ft (914-1676 m); flowers June-September. Notes: Distinguished by its general habit, the smooth cypselae, and the spinulose margins and midribs of the leaves. Ethnobotany: The leaves were used for food. Etymology: Lactuca is Latin for milky sap, while ludoviciana means of or from Louisiana. Synonyms: Lactuca campestris, Linnaeus campestris var. typica Editor: SBuckley, 2010