Wild Lettuce
Lactuca canadensis
Plant Type: This is a herbaceous plant, it is a annual which can reach a height of 3 Meters (10 feet ) . It can also be a biennial. The stem can be green or reddish. The juice is white.
Leaves: The leaves are alternate. Leaves are often innately lobed and toothed but can be entire and lanceolate .
Flowers: The flowers have numerous parts and are up to 0.7cm wide (0.25 inches). They are pale yellow. Blooms first appear in early summer and continue into early fall.
Habitat: Fields, fencerows, gardens and open woods.
Range: Most of eastern North America.
Medical Uses: Wild Lettuce has been used for various medical purposes in the new world and the old alike. Long considered to be a sedative, the milky juice or latex from lettuce becomes firm and brown when exposed to air, looking and smelling like opium and called lactucarium this substance has acquired a reputation as an opium substitute. There is no scientific research to support any medical use.