Lactuca serriola

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Family:	ASTERACEAE
Species:	Lactuca serriola L.
Common Name:	Prickly Lettuce
Habitat:	**
Associated Ecological Communities:	**
Growth Habit:	Herb
Duration:	Biennial
Category:	Vascular
USDA Symbol:	LASE
Plant Notes:	Prickly Lettuce is an introduced member of the Aster family (Asteraceae). It is native to Europe. In Alabama, Prickly Lettuce can be found state wide. It occurs in highly disturbed sites such as vacant lots, along railroads, in disused parking lots, and in cracks in the side walk. It is an annual from a tap root. Stems grow from 3-7 feet in height. The stem is unbranched below the inflorescence. Stems are round, glabrous, and often glaucous. Leaves are alternate, lobed or un-lobed, oblong to lanceolate in outline, with prickly margins. There are often prickles along the midrib on the lower side of the leaf. The basal lobes of the leaf clasp the stem. Leaves are rotated 45-90 degrees. Both stems and leaves contain a white milky latex sap. Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in paniculate arrays. Each head has 10-20 ray flowers and no disc flowers. The rays are lemon yellow in color. The fruit is a beaked achene. The body of the achene is flat and light tan in color. The pappus is white. Prickly Lettuce is a common site in many downtown areas.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:	**
Status:	Not Native
References:	**
Specimen:	View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

Family	ASTERACEAE - Aster family
Genus	Lactuca
Species	Lactuca serriola L. - Prickly Lettuce

Citation

Citation	Lactuca serriola Linnaeus, Cent. Pl. II 29. 1756.
Basionym:	**
Type:	Without data (lectotype: LINN 950.3). Lectotypified by S. D. Prince & R. N. Carter, Watsonia 11: 331-338. 1977.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

Synonym	Full Citation	Basionym	Type
Lactuca scariola

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Barbour, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Conecuh, Covington, Cullman, Dallas, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Madison, Marengo, Marshall, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sumter, Tuscaloosa

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, JSU, TROY, UNA, UWAL, UWFP

Range of years during which specimens were collected: -

Barcode / Accession No.	County	Coll. Date	Collector & Collection No.	Herbarium & Herbarium Name Used
AUA000005273	Pike	1 Jul 1988	DIAMOND, JR., ALVIN R. 5131	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
JSU116119	Marshall	21 Jul 1975	Whetstone, R. David 5176	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0009932	Tuscaloosa	15 Jun 2011	Spaulding, Daniel D. 13317	UWAL Lactuca serriola L.
TROY000015534	Jackson	03 Jul 1998	Brodeur, Kristin R. 977	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0000768	Montgomery	23 Jun 2008	Diamond, Alvin R. 19463	UWAL Lactuca serriola L.
TROY000015342	Montgomery	23 Jun 2008	Diamond, Alvin R. 19463	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0019202	Chilton	07 Jul 1990	Kral, Robert 77891	UWAL Lactuca serriola L.
JSU116107	Cullman	27 Jun 1975	Whetstone, R. David 5108	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0011171	Marengo	11 Jul 2012	England, J. Kevin 3639	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000002442	Pike	01 Jun 2000	Diamond, Alvin R. 11712	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
ALNHS00003692	Houston	28 May 2015	Barger, T. Wayne DTP-205	ALNHS Lactuca serriola L.
AUA000005268	Conecuh	30 Jul 1994	DIAMOND, JR., ALVIN R. 9273	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
JSU116114	Jefferson	13 Jul 1984	Barber, J. Patrick 768	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000039418	Lauderdale	17 Jun 2016	ENGLAND, J. KEVIN 6597	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
TROY000037211	Marengo	11 Jul 2012	England, J. Kevin 3639	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116106	Cherokee	28 Jul 1986	Whetstone, R. David 15341	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000034953	Tuscaloosa	15 Jun 2011	Spaulding, Daniel D. 13317	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116118	Marshall	13 Jun 1976	Whetstone, R. David 8459	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000015533	Jefferson	29 Aug 2006	Diamond, Alvin R. 16841	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116121	Morgan	7 Aug 1975	Whetstone, R. David 5947	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0013116	Barbour	13 Jan 2013	Diamond, Alvin R. 23659	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AMAL00021730	Sumter	12 Jun 2013	Keener, Brian R. 7898	AMAL Lactuca serriola L.
JSU116103	Blount	13 Jul 1996	Spaulding, Daniel D. 9065	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116108	Cullman	27 Jun 1975	Whetstone, R. David 5108	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000015344	Butler	17 Jun 2007	Diamond, Alvin R. 17701	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000015343	Covington	01 Jun 2002	Diamond, Alvin R. 13239	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116111	Jackson	3 Jul 1998	Brodeur, Kristin R. 977	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000005269	Lauderdale	7 Jul 1970	MOORE, HAROLD D. 248	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
AUA000005271	Lee	26 Jun 1970	ROGERS, NORMAN 57	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
JSU116115	Jefferson	13 Jul 1984	Barber, J. Patrick 769	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000039535	Madison	2 Jun 2017	ENGLAND, J. KEVIN 7918	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
TROY000040805	Dallas	18 Jun 2011	Keener, Brian R. 6534	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116120	Marshall	21 Jul 1975	Whetstone, R. David 5194	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0036554	Jackson	21 Jul 2017	England, J. Kevin 8260	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000048204	Autauga	28 Jul 2017	Parker, Matthew R. 1069	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0046223	Autauga	28 Jul 2017	Parker, Matthew R. 1069	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116113	Jefferson	13 Jul 1984	Barber, J. Patrick 768	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000005272	Pike	17 Jun 1994	DIAMOND, JR., ALVIN R. 9236	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
TROY000037766	Barbour	13 Jan 2013	Diamond, Alvin R. 23659	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000005267	Chambers	11 Jul 1969	MILLER, L.C. 100	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
UWAL0035223	Madison	02 Jun 2017	England, J. Kevin 7918	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0012709	Marengo	25 Jul 2011	England, J. Kevin 3093	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0032751	Lauderdale	17 Jun 2016	England, J. Kevin 6597	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116110	Etowah	12 Jun 1994	Hodge, Lesley M. 2645	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000039666	Elmore	08 Jun 2014	Diamond, Alvin R. 25153	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AMAL00012507	Elmore	18 Jun 2005	Spaulding, Daniel D. 12280	AMAL Lactuca serriola L.
TROY000040734	Sumter	12 Jun 2013	Keener, Brian R. 7898	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116112	Jackson	17 Aug 1975	Whetstone, R. David 6666	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000040572	Marengo	25 Jul 2011	England, J. Kevin 3093	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116116	Limestone	27 Jun 1996	Whetstone, R. David 17898	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
TROY000043817	Houston	28 Feb 2016	Diamond, Alvin R. 27216	TROY Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116109	Etowah	18 Jul 1969	Stanley, Judy s.n.	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116117	Marshall	21 Jul 1992	Spaulding, Daniel D. 2373	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AMAL00022014	Mobile	18 Jun 2012	Horne, Howard E. 1799	AMAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
JSU116104	Calhoun	12 Jul 1969	Clonts, Jerry A. s.n.	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000005270	Lawrence	1 Jul 1972	LUCKETT, LARRY 51	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
UWAL0012138	Sumter	12 Jun 2013	Keener, Brian R. 7898	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWFP004992	Escambia	28 Jun 2013	James R. Burkhalter 24175	UWFP Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AUA000039533	Jackson	21 Jul 2017	ENGLAND, J. KEVIN 8260	AUA LACTUCA SERRIOLA L.
UWAL0011955	Dallas	18 Jun 2011	Keener, Brian R. 6534	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
UWAL0034261	Mobile	18 Jun 2012	Horne, Howard E. 1799	UWAL Lactuca serriola Linnaeus
AMAL00009173	Tuscaloosa	15 Jun 2011	Spaulding, Daniel D. 13317	AMAL Lactuca serriola L.
UNA00054300	Blount	11 Jul 1998	Keener, Brian R. 1207	UNA Lactuca serriola L.
JSU116105	Calhoun	15 Jun 1982	Whetstone, R. David 11312	JSU Lactuca serriola Linnaeus

View a List of All Ecological Communities

For more information, contact: Brian R. Keener, Ph.D.

Data last modified: 3/9/2025

Web Development: The Florida Center for Community Design + Research

A member of the University of South Florida family of PlantAtlas.org sites

Citation Information:

Keener, B.R., A.R. Diamond, T.W. Barger, L.J. Davenport, P.G. Davison, S.L. Ginzbarg, C.J. Hansen, D.D. Spaulding, J.K. Triplett, and M. Woods. 2025. Alabama Plant Atlas. [S.M. Landry and K.N. Campbell (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama.

Data, text, and images licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Lactuca serriola

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Classification

Citation

Synonyms

Specimens and Distribution