Etymology: Lactuca: name for "milk"
Plants: erect, annual/biennial, 1'-8' tall forb with milky juice; stems leafy, smooth with whitish fuzz
Leaves: varying from entire, toothed, to pinnately-divided with narrow to arrow-shaped base, edges not spiny
Flowers: head 3/8" wide with 13-22 yellow to purple rays usually longer than wide; inflorescence with many heads in long, conical, loosely-branched cluster; blooms July-Sept.
Fruits: blackish, flat dry seed with only one obvious line on each side, and with white, fluffy pappus
Habitat: moderate moisture; meadows, fields, woods
Conservation Status: Native

Flora of North America: Flora of North America Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 2, Wetland Indicator = FACU+ Atlas of the Wisconsin Prairie and Savanna Flora: by T.S. Cochrane & H.H. Iltis: habitat, distribution infomation / flowering and fruiting times USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS): Images of seeds, fruits, embryos, etc. David G. Smith's "Delaware Wilflowers": Beautiful photographs; descriptions Illinois Wildflowers: Wonderful photographs; detailed descriptions; color and leaf arrangement key Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"