Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Read more about Downy Lettuce at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

Lactuca hirsuta has a more open inflorescence, with long secondary branches that are widely spreading (almost perpendicular) from the stem, with fewer, spatially widely scattered flowers pointed in many directions (in contract to Lactuca canadensis and other Lactuca that tend to have all branches ascending, with flowers closer together and often facing upward/skyward, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

INCLUDING PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lactuca hirsuta var. sanguinea   FAMILY Asteraceae_

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Lactuca hirsuta

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21 (2006)

Lactuca hirsuta

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Lactuca hirsuta var. hirsuta

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)

Lactuca hirsuta var. sanguinea

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-07-004:

Lactuca hirsuta   FAMILY Asteraceae_

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Lactuca hirsuta

COMMON NAME:
Red Wood Lettuce, Downy Lettuce, Hairy Lettuce

         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

Bryan England    bry_image004

June    Wake County    NC

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

Fruiting involucres 15-22mm tall (vs. those of L. canadensis 10-15mm tall), per Weakley's Flora (2020).

 COMPARE involucral bracts of Wild Lettuce

Bryan England    bry_image006

June    Wake County    NC

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

Flowers heads relatively large, the involucres measuring 1/2"+ in height, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

Bryan England    bry_image011

June    Wake County    NC

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

Lobes blocky, widest above the base and blunt, square or rounded at the tip (like a Post Oak), per Weakley's Flora (2023).

Bryan England    bry_image013

June    Wake County    NC

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

Var. sanguinea: Lower leaves with midrib villous beneath, per Noteworthy Plants of Southeastern Virginia (Fernald, 1938).

Bryan England    bry_mage016

June    Wake County    NC

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

Var. sanguinea: Stem glabrous or essentially so, per Noteworthy Plants of Southeastern Virginia (Fernald, 1938).

Bryan England    bry_061223_1416

August    Wake County    NC

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

Plants can be quite tall (note yardstick in the pic).

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Lactuca hirsuta   FAMILY Asteraceae_

INCLUDING PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lactuca hirsuta var. sanguinea   FAMILY Asteraceae_

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Lactuca hirsuta

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 19-20-21
Lactuca hirsuta

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Lactuca hirsuta var. hirsuta

INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Lactuca hirsuta var. sanguinea

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 179-07-004:
Lactuca hirsuta   FAMILY Asteraceae_

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lactuca hirsuta