COMPOSITAE (COMPOSITE FAMILY) 551 
Larger than either of the preceding species, two to three feet 
high, the whole plant usually rough-hairy. Base leaves about six 
inches in length, oblong to spatulate, lobed or coarsely and very 
irregularly toothed, narrowing to margined petioles; upper ones 
much smaller, lance-shaped, and clasping. Heads deep yellow, 
more than an inch broad, in an open corymbose cluster; involucre 
about a half-inch high, its principal bracts narrowly lancé-shaped, 
the outer row short, pointed, and spreading. Achenes smooth, 
slightly tapering to the apex, with thirteen ribs and a spreading 
pappus of very fine, white bristles. 
Means of control 
Hoe-cutting or spudding of first year leaf-crowns from the fleshy 
root; plants that survive to form fruiting stalks in the second year 
should be cut close to the ground before the first flowers mature. 
SMOOTH WHITE LETTUCE 
Prendnthes racemosa, Michx. 
(Ndbalus racemdsus, DC.) 
Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: August to September. 
Seed-time: September to October. 
Range: New Brunswick to the Northwest Territory, southward to 
New York, New Jersey, Missouri, and Colorado. 
Habitat: Moist soil; prairies and banks of streams, wet meadows, 
and marshes. 
A plant of very stately appearance, with a stout stalk, two to 
six feet or more in height, erect, simple, finely ridged, smooth, 
and glaucous, springing from a thick, tuberous, and very bitter root. 
Leaves light green, rather thick in texture, smooth, glaucous, the 
lower ones sometimes oval but usually oblong to obovate, four to 
eight inches in length, obtuse at apex, tapering to long, margined 
petioles, the edges with sparse and shallow teeth; upper ones much 
smaller, long-ovate to lance-shaped, acute, often entire, sessile, 
and partly clasping. Heads in a long, interrupted, spike-like 
panicle, the clusters densely crowded, some of the heads nodding 
but the greater number erect; florets pale purple, eight to fifteen 
