Lactuca perennis


Lactuca perennis, common names: mountain lettuce, blue lettuce or perennial lettuce, is a perennial herbaceous plant species belonging to the genus Lactuca of the daisy family. It is widespread across most of central and southern Europe. Its leaves are edible.

Description

Lactuca perennis reaches on average of height, with a minimum height of. 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. The flowering period extends from April through August and the seeds ripen from July until September.

Habitat

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 above sea level.