| Lactuca perennis | |
|---|---|
| Lactuca perennis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Lactuca |
| Species: | L. perennis |
| Binomial name | |
| Lactuca perennis L. |
|
Lactuca perennis, common names: Blue Lettuce or Perennial lettuce, is a perennial herbaceous plant species belonging to the genus Lactuca of the Asteraceae family.
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Lactuca perennis reaches on average 60 centimetres (24 in) of height, with a minimum height of 20 centimetres (7.9 in). This plant is glabrous, the stems is erect and branched, leaves are greyish-green, the lower ones with a small petioles, the upper ones partly amplexicaul. It is hermaphrodite and entomophilous. The flowers are violet-blue, with a size of 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in). The flowering period extends from April through August and the seeds ripen from July until September.
It is present in most of the Central and Southern Europe.
These plants prefer calcareous well-drained soils and they are common on sunny rocky soils, on dry meadows, on roadsides and on banks of rivers. They can be found on average at 500–2,000 metres (1,600–6,600 ft) above sea level.
This wild lettuce has an abundant white latex (hence the Latin name lactuca of the species, meaning milk) containing the substance "lactucarium" with many medicinal properties. It is especially useful as sedative, but the plant should be used with caution.