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Prickly Lettuce

Lactuca serriola

Photo of Prickly Lettuce
Photo by Dr. John Meade, weed scientist emeritus
Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension

Tall blue lettuce (Lactuca biennis), tall wild lettuce (L. canadensis), and prickly lettuce (L. serriola), are the most common types of wild lettuce. All have milky sap. The prickly lettuce is often called compass plant because the leaves tend to align themselves in a north-south position.

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Original Photographs and Image Descriptions:

Dr. John Meade
Weed Scientist Emeritus
Dept. of Plant Biology & Pathology
Rutgers, The State Univ. of NJ
59 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520

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