Prickly Lettuce - Complete ID, Edible and Medicinal Uses, Look-alike Plants and More!
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
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Prickly Lettuce - Lactuca serriola syn. Lactuca scariola
AKA Wild Lettuce, Compass Plant, opium lettuce, and Lettuce Opium
Some other plants with some ID points covered are:
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale
Chicory - Cichorium intybus
Sow Thistle - Sonchus oleraceus
Wild Lettuce gets a lot of attention from people interested in wild edible and medicinal plants mainly due to its pain relieving and sedative effects. Prickly lettuce, or lettuce opium, has been described as an alternative to opiates without the addictive properties and upset stomach that can be caused by opiates. Prickly lettuce AKA wild lettuce, opium lettuce has been studied quite a bit, and it's the lactucarium in the milky sap that has been studied and used commercially in products like lozenges, tinctures, and syrups.
Identification of Prickly Lettuce
Prickly lettuce is an annual or biennial plant that has been introduced from Europe. Some sources describe it as being native to North America, but the general consensus appears to indicate it is introduced. Prickly lettuce grows up to 2 m tall, and the stalk can be smooth or prickly with more prickles near the ground.
The leaves of prickly lettuce are alternate as they come off the stem and can be highly variable. When young the leaves of prickly lettuce start out as a basal rosette and can look very similar to dandelion, sow thistle and chicory. The leaves are usually deeply lobed, but can be lobeless, and are bluish-green, have backward pointing lobes, the base of the leaves clasp the stem, the bottom mid-rib has spines, and there are some spines along the margins of the leaves.
Prickly lettuce flowers are yellow composite flowers with ray flowers only. The flowers arise in a terminal cluster that is highly branched and is pyramid shaped.
Prickly Lettuce and Three Look-alikes
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale
Chicory - Cichorium intybus
Sow Thistle - Sonchus oleraceus
Milky sap that is exuded from prickly lettuce when it is cut or broken will not help to distinguish it from dandelion, chicory, or sow thistle. All four of these plants have edible leaves, and the leaves can look quite similar especially when young. Some traits that can help you distinguish the plants are demonstrated in the video. Dandelion doesn't have prickles and the midvein has no prickles or hairs. Chicory has no prickles on the margins or midvein but has a lot of hairs on the midvein. Sow thistle has prickles on the margins of the leaves but does not have hairs or prickles on the midvein. Prickly lettuce has prickles on the margins of the leaves and prickles on the midvein.
Prickly Lettuce is Edible
Prickly lettuce is related to the lettuce that is commonly grown and eaten in salads and sandwiches. It is thought that the garden lettuce was developed from prickly lettuce. The leaves and stems of prickly lettuce are edible and taste best when young. As they get older they get more bitter and tough. Cooking them with a change of water can remove some of the bitterness.
Prickly Lettuce Has Medicinal Uses
Prickly lettuce, also called lettuce opium, is said to have opiate like effect. Some of its medicinal uses include pain relief for rheumatic pain, musculoskeletal pain and pain associated with menstruation. It's also a mild sedative and has been used to help relieve insomnia, anxiety and irritability, be antispasmodic and has been used to relieve coughing and diarrhea.
Warning
Overuse of prickly lettuce can lead to an upset stomach. Also prickly lettuce is a member of the Asteraceae family, so people who are allergic could have a reaction.
Please consume wild plants at your own risk! Consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plants! This video is for information and entertainment only!
References
Dickinson, Richard. Weeds of Canada and the Northern United States. The University of Alberta Press. 1999.
Elias, Thomas and Dykeman, Peter. Edible Wild Plants. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 1982.
MacKinnon, A. Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine Media Productions (BC) Ltd. 2014.
Meunick, Jim. Basic Essentials: Edible Wild Plants & Useful Herbs. The Globe Pequot Press. 1999.
Nyerges, Christopher. Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants. Chicago Review Press Incorporated. 2014.
Parish, R.; Coupe, R.; and Lloyd, D. Plants of the Inland Northwest and Southern Interior British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2018
Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy. Plants of Coastal British Columbia including Washington, Oregon & Alaska. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing. 2004.
Varner, Collin. Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast: British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. 2020
Wiles, Briana. Mountain States Medicinal Plants. Timber Press Inc. 2018. - Jak na to + styl
Foragers of the galaxy, unite!
🙌✊️
Seeing all those leaves side by side is super helpful!
Good! I'm glad it's helpful. Thank you!
Good Grief!!!! This is the BEST explanation and description of all the videos I've seen. I let each of these plants grow wild on my property. Finally, I can discern which is which!! Thank you so much!! Subscribed!
Thank you so much!
Good to finally identify these two dandelion relatives, prickly lettuce and sow thistle. Back in spring 2020, both of these were growing in my back yard and they helped to keep me supplied with a green veg during Covid Lockdown.
That's awesome! Well done!
Wow that's so cool!
I have loads of sow thistle. I pull them out of the ground if i get to them. They spread like crazy. I didn't know they were officially edible. I've eaten a leaf or two. I guess I wasn't impressed.
Is there any other benefit besides that they can prevent starvation? I always thought that milk sap could be useful for something.
They are good to eat. I eat them from the yard
I thought it was lettuce but it stabbed me so I tossed it.
The best video I've found for identifying this plant so far on CZcams.
Thank you! I really appreciate that!
Thank you for the BEST most thorough video for identifying this!
Thank you! I really appreciate that. I was hoping it would be helpful!
I foraged some prickly lettuce today
Nice!
After a year of not so successful gardening I decided to pay attention to the plants that were thriving ("weeds") and discovered mallo, nettle, dandelion and sow thistle. I did mistake the sow thistle for dandelion and used it in a salad which I was very sleepy after. Looking for clarification and thats is how I found you.
I hope I helped to clarify things!
so which one gets you sleepy?
I started to pay attention to the plants that was thriving 🤣🤣🤣
Brilliance 👏🏻
Can’t tell you how valuable your videos are, especially for what’s coming. Thanks! ♥️ you make me giggle 🤭
Thank you so much! I'm glad they're valuable for you!
The absolute best video on ID of Wild Lettuce I've seen yet...
Thank you so much!
Love this. I saw a different video a couple of weeks ago and was telling my dad about it. Today, I found what I was pretty sure was prickly lettuce, and sure enough, it is. Thanks for the informative video. I'll be letting it go to seed so I can send him some. 😊
You're welcome! Thank you, too! I hope it works out!
So grateful for this video. I have both prickly lettuce and sow thistle identified due to you!
Oh, good! I'm glad it helped! Thank you for watching!
It looks very similar to what we call puha in New Zealand and there are several types according to how they grow. The prickly one is shiny and resembles a thistle to the touch, but will not penitrate the skin and is harmless, the other looks almost identical to what you have. They are very much sought after in New Zealand for their culinary value and cooked with fatty rather than lean meats along with accompanying vegetables. It's what is commonly known as, "boil up". There is a special way of preparing them and are not eaten raw as a salad, but are cooked with fatty meat rather than lean and cheaper less expensive cuts, brisket, neck chops, a variety of chops pork being the most popular. If they are identical, you're in paradise. Nuku noa, from New Zealand.
That sounds really good! Thank you!
From Wikipedia: Puha or Püha may refer to: Sonchus, genus of annual herbs (sow thistles).
Thank you so much for this! Id been looking for this forever and couldn't identify correctly till now!
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Awesome! Your videos are informative, palatable, and well delivered. Thanks for taking the time to make them! 🙂
Thank you so much! That's so nice of you to say!
Thanks for explaining all of the differences in prickly lettuce and the SO Similar look-a-likes! This year, after the hurricane I’ve got tons of these.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thank you so much Okanagan ❤. I ve got all these weeds in my garden, I ve seen different videos to learn the distinction between them, well yours is the clearest one. I have back chronic inflammation and dare not "taste" the prickly lettuce last years. Today, with the springtime, they come back again and eventually, I ve just make a juice with banana +almond powder + apple + shia seeds : that was delicious and did reduce efficiently my chronic pains. Will try again for sure God bless you for sharing yr knowledge ❤❤❤
You're welcome! Thank you so much for the very kind comment!
Very very informative, subbed
Thank you!
Thanks from the Island! thanks for the video 🌺🌼🌺
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Wonderful, thank you!
You're welcome. Thank you, too!
Thank you! Very thorough and clear explanations!!
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Best video I've seen on IDs. Thank you.
Thank you so much!
Very helpful! Thank you.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Very informative! Great job!
Thank you!
this is the best most informative video on this plant i have seen thank u
Thank you! I appreciate that!
Thank you for this. This is great
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thanks so much loved it
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Excellent video!
Thank you!
Look at all that prickly lettuce! Great video thank you!
Thank you, too!
Just found you in my suggested!! 🎉❤
Hooray! I'm glad you did!
Great video! Thanks for the information.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thank you! ❤ and God bless you and keep you! 🙏
Thank you! God bless you, too!
Great video. Thank you
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
This has been the most informative on the id between those so similar. Thanks.
I'm glad you thought so! Thank you!
Thanks, good video!
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thank you for your time and knowledge
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
So informative!! Thanks so much
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Super helpful. The leaves set out, and compared was awesome!
Oh, thank you! I'm glad it helped!
This was a great video. Thanks for sharing
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Very helpful. Great video
Thank you!
I appreciate all the information included here. Now I know what grows prolifically in fields and drainage ditches in the vicinity nearby is sow thistle. I don’t eat them, I try to get rid of them by pulling out of the ground before they flower and go to seed. Thankfully they are easy to pull up and the prickles don’t hurt when the plant is young.
I'm glad it helped! Thank you, too!
👍i transplanted one. Its getting ready to flower.
Nice!
Thank you great video
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thank you! I took a screenshot of the leaves lined up for reference. 💫🌱💫
You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful!
Great video
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this video. Super helpful and informative.
You're welcome! Thank you, too! I'm glad it was helpful!
Thank you for sharing the differences of these useful plants and how to clearly tell them apart my friend !
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thank you very informative.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
excellent video
Thank you!
I really appreciate the side-by-sides! So helpful!!! I was hoping to find some prickly lettuce in my yard tonight but it was all sow thistle. Now to watch your video on sow thistle 🙂
I'm glad it was helpful! Thank you!
I have 1 plant in Tennessee growing in a crack in the cement on my patio. Everything else is dandelion & sow.
Another good video idea I would watch is if you did the research on exactly where wild lettuce grows, and what other plants like to grow next to it something like that
Good idea! Thank you!
Thank you for this video. I have this exact plant growing in my yard in central Utah.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Your video is very well done. Straight to the points and easy to follow.
Thank you, so much, for putting this together for us.
You're welcome! Thank you for watching and commenting!
Great video on these plants, thanks for the speed at which you teach, I don’t care for long videos, but this is wonderful❤️
Thank you! That's very nice of you to say!
What an excellent video!!! I'm so grateful to have found this and your channel. We're in Ontario but I'm subscribing anyways, just for this reason! We have plants in common 🥰🙏 Thank you!!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found it, too!
I have a plant in my backyard that is very similar to the lactuca serriola, but its stem is purple and the leaves grow very far apart, about 10cm apart from leaf to leaf, it also has arms that are not straight up, but a single plant covers almost a meter and a half tall, thank you for your very helpful videos🙏👏💖👌
Same here, very prickly purple main stem...major lactose/white sao...I don't know what it is??? ( anyone )
We call it 'JAKHAIÑ'. We eat it raw, we also cut it into pieces and mix with diced onions, diced green chillies, mashed potatoes and minced pork.
It might be a related type called Lactuca Canadensis. It apparently is not quite as powerful as a medicine, and often doesn't have the rib prickles. Even after watching several vids, I needed to look them up in Wikipedia to confirm.
Best video about wild lettuce identification I’m glad you waited until some were fully grown consider yourself lucky I have to go out in the woods but now I finally feel confident enough thanks to your video & the picture this app
Thank you! That's very nice of you to say. Good luck!
Thank you ! 😎🙂
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Making some right now as I watch this 😌
Nice!
Very very nice information useful
Thank you!
I really appreciate the very comprehensive video. All other videos I've seen left me with unanswered questions and this video "LITERALLY EXPLAINS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO IDENTIFY THIS WONDERFUL PLANT
Thank you so much! I tried to make it pretty comprehensive. I appreciate your kind words!
This was excellent teaching. I'm gonna have to watch it again 😊 Thx u
Thank you and you're welcome!
Great video
God Bless
Thank you! God bless you, too!
Very informative. Tks for sharing.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
nice presentation thanks
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Thank you!
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Much Love 💕
Same to you!
Great video. Saving this as a reference because I’m certain that I’ve seen some of these weeds growing in my backyard here in Australia. 🇦🇺
Thank you! I hope it helps!
Thank you ❤
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
Oh hi there! Great video. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to go for a hike tomorrow and see if I can see if I can tell prickly lettuce and dandelions apart.
Oh, hi there! I think you'll be able to do it. Thank you!
Thanks! I have some in my garden. Wondered what it was.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
This plant is easy to Identify and works for me .... either a pain relief or sleep aide.. I can contest it works.
Oh, good! Thank you!
Hello Mrs Tanya. We're neighbors. I'm in Fayetteville (231) hwy. Great vid on these wild lettuce's. We have a bed of them in a corner of the house. I didn't cut any by mistake, and seeds even blew to neighbors across from us. I promise to do better this year. Have a quart bag of seeds however.
Hi! Maybe this comment was meant for another video? Thank you for watching!
Thank you
You're welcome, and thank you, too!
Excellent camera quality! What camera do you use?
BEST VIDEO ON THIS EVER SEEN!!!! THANK YOU & GOD BLESS YA!💙🩵🤍
Wow, thank you so much! God bless you, too!
You just got yourself another subscriber sir! 🌼
Are you intentionally growing these plants in your yard? Or are they wild that you allow to grow? Are there any toxic or poisonous lookalikes? Your leaf comparison was very helpful!
Thank you!
One of them popped up in my yard one year, and I let it go to seed, so now I've got lots! There are a lot of plants that look similar to the ones I showed, but I'm not sure about toxic lookalikes, at least not in my area.
Hi.. there are apps that are free , you can take a picture and it identifies plants.🍀
@@OkanaganGardenerandForager Same here. I had one plant pop up next to my rose bush, I let it grow, I had no idea what it was. The next year another, the same type grew up beside it. Then I had about half a dozen scattered around the property the year after that. This year I left a patch of ground un-mowed, it was white clover, but next time I looked, it had turned into a patch of wild lettuce and look alikes.
Thanks, great explanation and visual of the different look a likes! Now I have to figure out what I have! Thought for sure it was a wild lettuce, but I don't think so now.
It has triangle leaf stem shape, deeply loved leaf, milky sap that turns brown, purple-ish/ streaked main stalk, over 6 ft (& starting to flower), BUT, No prickly leaf stem! ....Kind of bummed because I wanted to make a tincture.
Especially showing the leafs
Thank you! I'm glad that part was helpful!
Thanks
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
After watching many videos lol I think I am finally getting the hang of this. Great identification video, I believe I have lactic candensis growing here, not very prickly but still has the prickles on the spine and not on every leaf. Other than that the growth habit is very similar to your prickly lettuce, not sow thistle. Are the flowers edible too?, as obviously it is too late in the season for the leaves.
Excellent plant ID video! A caution to share, and a request from anyone who has looked into the origins of the iceberg lettuce that is grown agriculturally: 1) prickly lettuce, as far as I understand it, is not GRAS (generally recognized as safe), esp if it's used on an ongoing basis. There are other herbs that help relax the body that are more safe and effective. Ex: any of the Artemisia spp, like mugwort, wormwood, and southernwood; kava root tincture; valerian. 2) I am almost certain that iceberg lettuce was not bred from Lactuca serriola, even though this has been the general consensus when you research it. I believe it was a close relative of Lactuca serriola, and this is why there could have been confusion. Of course, the original breeding could easily have taken place hundreds of yrs ago, and so the breeding evidence is lacking. If there is anyone out there who already has researched this and found this to be true, then pls share! Thx again for the video and the opportunity to share.❤
Great comment! Thank you so much!
Thank you. I think I have these in my yard but they never get that tall. I'm in Maine.
You're welcome! Thank you, too!
kind sir: I harvested like 15 lbs of wild prickley lettuce and I have been eating it for a whole week, with no ill effects. They taste like spinach, a little. The spring tender growth makes them taste real good. I eat it raw, or saurkrauted. My question is: how do I grow it? Right now, I just have them wild in the yard, the prickly lettuce, the hawkweed, the dandelions, and milk thistle. But, I don't know how to grow the prickly lettuce.
I have read that you can grow regular lettuce and let it go to seed you can harvest it and get similar benefit as with wild lettuce.
Oh, interesting! I hadn't heard that. Thanks!
@@OkanaganGardenerandForager you are welcome. It was another site that talked about wild lettuce etc. I plan to research it more and I may go ahead & plant some lettuce to do and see if it does work like that.
Walking through my old neighborhood trying to distinguish dandelion from the others. Never heard of prickly lettuce. “Wild”Dandelion looks different from what’s in the store. Thanks for the info. Now to see what they are good for!
You're welcome! I hope it helped! Thank you for watching!
@@OkanaganGardenerandForager it did! Do you use it?
Yes, I've had a sore back lately, so I've had some of my prickly lettuce tincture to help ease some of the pain.
I'm going to walk my 10 acres and see if I have any growing on my property! Thanks for the video!
Can it be dried and used as a tea? Or in capsules?
Absolute FAVORITE chicken weed!
🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓🥚🐓
I guess I musta fed some of these to my now 1 year old girls when pretty young and still in their brooder. They all adored them and quickly annihilated the garden I thickly planted with them!
❤Nice to be very sure this was it. I’ve opened up a small pasture and I now attempt to keep them growing with a bit of protection.
One neat thing about this letuca, is how easy it is to harvest the top foot while still youngish, and several side branches will soon sprout for multiple new harvests. I can’t seem to grow enough for them.
Are they perhaps addicted to its effects???
Magically, for myself, During Covid, but AFTER I supplemented my dangerously sickly low 6ng /ml D LEVEL up (now well) above 50ng , (125nmol/L) ALL of my pains & long-standing severe depression disappeared, so I have no medical need for myself. My flock can joyfully have them all🎉
I used Prickly lettuce tincture for pain of bladder infection. 1/8 of a teaspoon every 4 hours.
Thank you!
👍Happy Beer:30! 🐺
Thanks! You too!
Smiling Jack ! Thanks for the video. I have a few (3) plants coming into their second season. I purchased seeds online. I hope they are Prickly Lettuce and not Sow Thistle as I need to harvest them for pain . I have had a few surgeries and don't like prescription meds. ! So far they are looking and testing out as Prickly Lettuce or Wild Lettuce. My pain reduction will be the clincher. Thanks for you vids. !
Good luck! I hope it works out! Thank you, too!
Hi! I really loved the video, but I'm still confused on what I have in my garden. It is not flowering and they are very tall. I thought it would be prickly lettuce but then when I just watched the difference in leaves I'm not too sure now. I was hoping you could help.
We have lots of them on the yard, and we will either trash them or eat them today.
They can cover a lot of area quickly!
Great video! What would be the best way to prepare prickly lettuce for medicinal purposes?
Thank you! I'm making a tincture. I think that's probably one of the best ways to do it.
Yes i would use wodka
Same for me.
Very thorough, except the information on how to properly prepare it for it’s pain relieving properties. Now have to look for it elsewhere
You're right. I didn't put it all in here. I hope you still got something out of it!
I heard you can use sow thistle and wild lettuce for the same medicinal reasons and possibly ALL the plants show in this video have similar pain killing properties
What does the opium in lettuce do for pain/arthritis ? Where does prickly lettuce grow ?
I'm in Mississippi I really need some of that as much as I can get
Can you eat or use the roots? And if so, how?
I have two in my backyard that I’ve let flower and go to seed. I wanted to see the whole plant for identification. I plan on collecting the seed and plant it in a better location.
I did that, too. Now I've got lots!
Sweet, refreshing my info’s. Reviewing and all. This spring it looks like my two specimens let plenty of seed go before I got to them. It’s all over my garden 😅. I’m looking for dandelion to add this year.
Nice!
So I I literally have a 2 acre field that has been about 5 years of not having commercial crops in it. And now these grow wild. Like the whole field. Are these harvestable as a natural medecinal use at all?