284 
LII. COMPOSITE 
Leaves more or less lobed and toothed. Stems 
sometimes dwarfed 4. L. hastata. 
St 3ms prostrate or pendulous. Leaves pinnatifid. 
Heads racemose, drooping 5. L. macrorhiza. 
1. Lactuca Scariola, Linn . ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 404. Glabrous or 
nearly so ; stems erect, 2-5 ft., leafy, branched, usually prickly 
towards the base. Leaves sessile, 5-7 in., pinnatifid, segments 
toothed, pointing downwards ; lower surface usually prickly on 
the midrib and nerves; stem -leaves lobed at the base. Heads 
\ in. long, erect ; flowers yellow. Achenes brown ; beak very 
slender, about as long as the body. 
Mushobra, Sutlej valley ; March-November. — W. Himalaya, 6000-11,000 ft. 
— W. Asia, Europe (Britain). 
2. Lactuca dissecta, Don ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 405. Glabrous or 
nearly so ; stems often tufted, erect, 6-18 in., leafy and much 
branched or naked and nearly simple. Leaves 1-4 in., pinnatifid, 
lobes varying much in size and cutting : radical leaves usually 
many, sessile ; lower stem-leaves stalked ; upper ones sessile, 
lobed at the base ; uppermost linear. Heads many, in. long, 
corymbose ; stalks slender, erect ; flowers pale blue. Achenes 
3-ribbed on each face, margins thickened ; beak very slender, twice 
as long as the body. 
Simla, common ; April-September. — Temperate Himalaya, 4000-8000 ft. — 
Afghanistan. 
3. Lactuca longifolia, DC. ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 405. Glabrous ; 
stems erect, 3-6 ft., branched. Leaves 4-7 x in., long-pointed, 
entire, stem-clasping ; basal lobes narrow, acute, appressed to the 
stem. Heads \ in. long ; stalks slender, erect ; flowers blue-purple. 
Achenes thickened on the margins ; beak very slender, not longer 
than the body. 
Shali, Daha in the Giri valley ; September. — Temperate Himalaya, 4000- 
9000 ft. 
4. Lactuca hastata, DC . ; FI. Br. Ind. iii. 407. Stems robust, 
erect, 4-7 ft., sometimes dwarfed and slender, glabrous towards 
the base, more or less glandular upwards especially on the 
branches of the inflorescence. Leaves variable, smooth or 
rough; stalks naked or winged, base dilated or 2-lobed; blade 
6-12 x llr-4 in., pinnately lobed, terminal lobe broad, coarsely 
toothed, lower lobes many or few or none. Heads £ in. long, in 
branched racemes forming a terminal panicle. Involucral bracts 
bristly hairy, the outer about half as long as the inner ; flowers 
10-30, dark blue. Eipe achenes black, margins thickened ; beak 
about half as long as the body. 
Simla, Theog, in forest ; July-Oetober. — Temperate Himalaya, 4000- 
12,000 ft. — Mountains in S. India. 
This species has the aspect of Prenanthes Brunoniana, but the heads con- 
tain 10-30 flowers instead of 3-5, and the achenes are distinctly beaked. 
