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 
Lactica birsista. 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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