Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Canada Lettuce - Lactuca canadensis   L.
Members of Asteraceae:
Members of Lactuca with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Asterales » Family Asteraceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionThroughout the state.

N.S. to B.C., south to FL, TX, and CA.
AbundanceCommon to often very common statewide, though somewhat less numerous in parts of the middle and lower Coastal Plain.
HabitatDry to mesic soil of fields, pastures, roadsides, clearings, disturbed woodlands. The true natural habitats in NC are not known for this weedy native.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting late June-October.
IdentificationCanada Lettuce should be familiar to most readers, with its weedy aspect, raggedly cut and lobed leaves, and open inflorescence of small yellow heads. Our only other yellow-flowered wild lettuce is L. hirsuta, which differs in its pubescent stem (vs. smooth or nearly so) and blunt-lobed and blunt-tipped leaves (vs. pointy lobed and tipped). As with others in the genus, some plants can reach up to 8-9 feet tall.
Taxonomic CommentsNone

Other Common Name(s)Yellow Wild Lettuce, Canada Wild Lettuce, Wild Lettuce
State RankS5
Global RankG5
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpFACU link
USACE-empFACU link
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B.A. SorrieRoadside near cropfield, Niagara-Carthage Road, June 2010. MoorePhoto_natural
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