Wild Lettuce (Lactuca canadensis)

Lactuca canadensis is called Wild Lettuce around here (central Illinois). This wildflower/weed can grow up to 8 feet tall. It's a smooth-skinned biennial that has a milky tannish sap. It becomes multi-branched at the top, where numerous, small (less than a half-inch across) flower heads occur. Each head is composed of 15 to 22 yellow petal-like ray flowers surrounding a central disk. Flowers appear from July through September. The flower and seed heads look like diminutive dandelions. Seed distribution is wind borne, just like the dandelion. It can colonize densely.
Leaves are stalkless and arranged alternately. They may attain a length of 12 inches by 6 inches wide, though usually smaller, and vary from deeply lobed to rounded.
Habitats where found include dry open woodlands, savannas, prairies, pastures, and disturbed ground.
Native Indians used the milky sap to treat skin eruptions. Crushed leaves were used on insect bites. A root tea served to treat diarrhea, heart and lung problems, bleeding, and nausea, and as a pain reliever. A leaf tea was used to hasten milk flow after childbirth by both Indians and early settlers.

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Lactuca canadensis is said to reach "up to" eight feet tall, however it can grow taller, as I have a strictly volunteer specimen that is at least ten feet in late June, so it may grow even taller. This is natural growth, with no fertilizer of any sort used to boost its size. I will monitor it and get an exact measurement when it reaches its peak, and post the results here.

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