284 
LII. COMPOSITE 
Leaves more or less lobed and toothed. Stems 
sometimes dwarfed . . . . .4 . L. liastata. 
Stems 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 
J in. long, erect ; flowers yellow. Achenes brown ; beak very 
slender, about as long as the body. 
Mushobra, Sutlej valley ; March-November. — W. Himalaya, 6000-1 1 ,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 vallev ; 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 1^-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. Ripe achenes black, margins thickened ; beak 
about half as long as the body. 
Simla, Theog, in forest; July-October. — 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. 
