Lactuca pulchella (Pursh) DC.

  • Authority

    Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

  • Family

    Asteraceae

  • Scientific Name

    Lactuca pulchella (Pursh) DC.

  • Description

    Species Description - Perennial 2–10 dm from deep-seated creeping roots, glabrous or glabrate; lvs elongate, 5–18 cm × 6–35 mm, entire, or the lower ones ± lobed, rarely sharply denticulate, often glaucous beneath; heads several or numerous, very showy, with 18–50 blue fls; invol 15–20 mm in fr; achenes 4–7 mm overall, the slender body moderately compressed, prominently several- nerved on each face, the beak stout, often whitish, up to as long as the body; 2n=34. Mostly in meadows, thickets, prairies, and other moist low places; Alas. to Calif., e. to Minn. and Mo., and occasionally intr. eastward. June–Sept. (L. tatarica ssp. p.; L. oblongifolia)

  • Common Names

    blue lettuce