YELLOW AND ORANGE WILD FLOWERS 



are succeeded by conspicuous silky heads of down. 

 The plant has a vigorous growth, and is rather coarse- 

 looking. The generic name is derived from the 

 ancient Latin, lac-milk, and refers to the milky juice 

 of the stalk and foliage. Lettuce has been known and 

 used as a salad from a very remote period, and the 

 Persian kings are said to have had it served on their 

 tables, four or five hundred years before the Christian 

 era. The wild plants are often gathered for salad. 

 The ancients believed that Lettuce produced sleep, 

 and it is claimed to possess the calming properties of 

 opium. It has been used to allay cough and to quiet 

 nervous irritation. In France, a water distilled from 

 the leaves is used for its soothing effects. The fresh 

 leaves, when boiled, are sometimes used in relieving 

 convulsions. The Wild Lettuce is found from Georgia, 

 Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas, north to Canada. 

 There are nearly one hundred members of this group 

 distributed throughout North America and some of 

 them are difficult to distinguish. 



HAIRY, OR RED WOOD LETTUCE 



Lactuca hirsuta. Chicory Family. 



This is a smaller, less leafy, and usually hairy species, 

 growing generally in dry soils from one to six feet 

 high. The hollow stalk is usually stained with red. 

 The rays of the flowers are reddish yellow, and the 

 blossoms are borne in a loose, branching, terminal 

 cluster. The leaves are more deeply and narrowly 

 cut than those of the preceding. This plant is found 



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