Asteraceae

Lactuca serriola

Common Names: Prickly lettuce

Plant Form: Biennial erect herb. Size: 1 to 2 m tall. Stem: Green to whitish, smooth and often with prickles near base. Releases a milky latex when cut. Leaves: Oblong or lance shaped, become deeply lobed with age, with spiny white midrib. Flowers: Pale yellow, about 20 overlapping strap-like petals with toothed ends, about 8 mm diameter. Fruit and Seeds: Dandelion like with hairy parachutes. Habitat: Abandoned fields, roadsides, urban areas, wasteland. Distinguishing Features: Very similar to Bitter lettuce (Lactuca virosa) but generally shorter and pricklier, along with the milky latex from cut stems being typically lighter in colour. Impacts: Loss of land productivity, outcompetes native species.

Midrib and stalk have soft spines

Leaves often in a flat plane

Big inflorescence held high

Yellow flowers

Lower leaves usually deeply lobed

Upper leaves usually smooth edged