PRICKLY LETTUCE 



springtime, have, nevertheless much of the charm of 

 their elder brother though they lack the uplooking, 

 sturdy, Dandelion poise. In color the blossoms are 

 the same;' looking down upon them, they seem faithful 

 copies in a smaller mould, and, moreover, they pos- 

 sess one characteristic denied to our Dandelion. The 

 flower-heads will remain open and the buds will bloom 

 after they are picked. 



The flowering stem rises about two feet above 

 the rosette of narrow, lobed leaves, but the entire 

 plant is so frequently overwhelmed in the summer 

 tangle that the flower-heads only are in evidence. 

 The pappus is brownish, plumy, and forms a pompon 

 not a globe. 



PRICKLY LETTUCE. COMPASS PLANT 



Lactuca scariola var. integrdta 



Annual or winter annual. Naturalized from Europe. 

 All soils, common everywhere in waste places. New 

 England to the Missouri River, very abundant in Ohio 

 Valley and in the States bordering on the Great Lakes. 

 July-October. 



Stem. — Erect, with short, lateral branches, round, 

 smooth, except for a few prickles near the base; two to 

 five feet high, pale green, filled with milky juice. 



Leaves. — Alternate, pale green, oblong, variable; often 

 obtuse at tips, but sometimes acute, with wavy, toothed 

 and prickled margins, sessile, or clasping with two ears 

 at the base. Midrib white, closely set with spines on the 

 under side. Leaves of plants growing in the open have 

 a vertical twist at the base which causes their edges to 

 point up and down; those in the shade do not have this 

 twist. 



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