False Lettuce Lactuca floridana
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Lactuca floridana var. villosa
- Mulgedium floridanum
- Sonchus floridanus
- Phonetic Spelling
- lak-TOO-kuh flor-ih-DAY-na
- Description
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Florida blue lettuce is an annual/biennial herb native to the Eastern and Central United States and Eastern and Central Canada. It is typically found in woodlands, thickets, moist open areas, or along streams and lakes. This species grows 2-7 feet tall and 1-3 feet wide, with erect, purplish-green, hollow stems that exude a milky white sap. Its flowers have small, 10-15 pale bluish-lavender-whitish petal rays and dark purple bracts, but don't have disc florets. The basal leaves are lobed, lanceolate to triangular, and the upper leaves are smaller, lanceolate, and unlobed. The leaves are edible but bitter in taste and resemble dandelion leaves. It is best to use young leaves raw in salads and cook the older leaves. Florida blue lettuce is a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae). The genus name Lactuca is derived from the Latin word lac, meaning milk. This refers to the white milky sap found in the plant's leaves, roots, and stems. The specific epithet floridana means "of Florida."
Prefers partial to full shade and moist to wet, fertile soil. It requires constant moisture, but not waterlogged. It is adaptable to various soil types and prefers a slightly acidic to neutral pH. In the wild, it is self-seeding.
In North Carolina, Florida blue lettuce is commonly found in the Piedmont, but is uncommon or rare in the Mountains or the Coastal Plains.
Consider for a native or wildflower garden.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect pests or diseases. Monitor for aphids, snails, slugs, leafminers, and whiteflies. May be susceptible to powdery mildew, downy mildew, leaf spot, root rot, Botrytis, wilt, mosaic virus, Blossom-end rot, and Coryneum blight.
- See this plant in the following landscape :
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Lactuca
- Species:
- floridana
- Family:
- Asteraceae
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Biennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central & Eastern Canada to Central & Eastern United States
- Distribution:
- Native: Canada--Manitoba, Ontario; United States--Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Introduced: Puerto Rico
- Wildlife Value:
- Goldfinches eat the seeds, and deer eat the plant.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Wildlife Food Source
- Edibility:
- Leaves can be eaten but are bitter. Cooking the young leaves in water will help to remove the bitter taste.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 7 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Native Plant
- Vegetable
- Wildflower
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Maintenance:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- High Organic Matter
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Achene
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is actually a cypsela but is referred to as an achene. The fruit is a flattened, short-beaked achene, featuring white fluffy bristles that float in the wind. They are 4-6 mm long, brown, and elliptical.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Radial
- Flower Petals:
- 7 - 20 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Each flower is 0.25 to 0.5 inches in diameter and has 10-15 bluish, light purplish, or whitish petal rays. In the center of the flower, the anthers form blue rod-like tubes, and the styles project outwards from these tubes. The flowers are born from the upper leaf axils and appear as stalked flowers in loose panicles at the top of the plant. The bracts are dark purple, hairless, overlapping, and form a tube at the base of the flower. Blooms from July to October.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Rosulate
- Leaf Shape:
- Deltoid
- Elliptical
- Lanceolate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Dentate
- Lobed
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- The basal leaves are alternately arranged, rosulate, and measure up to 12 inches long and 8 inches wide. The lower leaves are triangular to lanceolate, divided, with a large angular lobe and 1-3 smaller lobes. As the leaves ascend the stem, they are smaller, unlobed, lanceolate, smooth, with dentate margins. When the leaves are crushed, they release a milky white sap.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Purple/Lavender
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- The stems are single, upright, unbranched, purplish-green, smooth, hollow, with a white milky sap.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Pond
- Riparian
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Shade Garden
- Attracts:
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Wet Soil
- Problems:
- Weedy
