| Plant |
Height 7-100 cm |
| Stem |
Erect or spreading-erect, sulcate, whitish, glabrous or hispid in the lower part, unbranched or branched from near the base |
| Stem leaves |
Oblong or obovate, 1-20 cm long, 0.5-4.5 cm wide, entire, pinnatifid or runcinate, entire or denticulate, petiole-like attenuate, glabrous or rarely subglabrous below, glaucous on both surfaces. Terminal lobe deltoid, acute. Lateral lobes 2-6, deltoid. Upper leaves auriculate with acute auricles |
| Inflorescence |
Paniculiform or spiciform. Peduncle up to 13 cm long, glabrous, covered with bracts |
| Heads |
4-16 flowers. Involucre at flowering narrowly cylindrical, 5-12 mm long, glabrous. Involucral bracts margin white scarious. Outer involucral bracts oblong, 3-5 mm long, 1-2 mm wide. Inner involucral bracts linear-oblong, up to 12 mm long, 1.5-3.0 mm wide, obtuse or subacute. Receptacle flat, pitted, without scales. Corolla ligulate, pale yellow (often drying blue). Tube 4-5 mm long, villose at apex. Ligule 6-7 mm long, 1.0-1.5 mm wide, sometimes tinged purple, reddish or bluish. Anthertube c. 3 mm long. Apical appendages obtuse. Style 8-9 mm long. Branches c. 0.5 mm long |
| Achenes |
Cylindrical-fusiform in outline, strongly compressed, 3-8 mm long, scabridulous, dark grey or dark brown, with 7-8 ribs on each face, with a filiform beak. Pappus white, c. 5 mm long, caducous, fragile, remotely scabridulous |
| Reference |
Cichorieae Portal - based on Feráková V. (1977) The Genus Lactuca in Europe. Bratislava; Meikle R.D. (1985) Flora auf Cyprus 2. Kew; Chung K.F. (2006) Lactuca L. In: Yatskievych G. (ed) Flora of Missouri 2 Revised Edition. St. Louis |
