Lettuce

Lettuce
	An iceberg lettuce field in California
Scientific classification
Unrecognized taxon (fix):	Plantae
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Lactuca
Species:	L. sativa
Binomial name
	Lactuca sativa; L.
Synonyms
	Lactuca scariola var. sativa (Moris); L. scariola var. integrata (Gren. and Godr.); L. scariola var. integrifolia (G.Beck);

Lettuce is a vegetable as well as an annual plant. Both the stems and the leaves can be eaten. It is of the Asteraceae family.

Loose leaf Romaine lettuce

Growing lettuce

Lettuce can be grown in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and North America, in temperate climates. It will turn more bitter tasting in hot weather. You can grow lettuce during winter in a greenhouse.^[1]

Eating lettuce

In some countries, it is often eaten cold and raw, in salads, hamburgers, tacos, sandwichs, and many other dishes. In some places, including China, lettuce is eaten cooked. Lettuce contains very little energy or nutrients.

Kinds of lettuce

Most lettuce leaves are green, but some are red. Most lettuce leaves taste bitter. Some kinds of lettuce grow in a head shape like cabbage, while the leaves of some kinds grow more loosely.

The five main cultivars are: green leaf, red leaf, cos, crisphead, and stem lettuce.^[2]

Common varieties are Romaine, iceberg, and butter lettuce.

The name of the plant in English, lettuce, and in Latin, lactuca, come from lactis, the Latin word for milk, because the juice of the plant looks like milk.

History of lettuce

Wild lettuce plants were eaten by the Romans and Egyptians. The ancient Greeks were among the first people to grow lettuce as a crop. It was one of the first plants brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus.^[3]

Lettuce Media

Seeds of Lactuca sativa
Lactuca sativa, botersla
Mature lettuce inflorescence in fruit
A lettuce farm in the United Kingdom
A transplanted bed of lettuce in a polytunnel
A selection of lettuce cultivars
The lettuce variety celtuce is grown for its stem, used in Chinese cooking.
This variety of lettuce grows well in my Oklahoma garden. I save seeds from at least one plant every year in order to plant the following year. I originally bought these seeds, as well as most of my seeds, from Botanical Interests in 2017. Since I save seeds, I have not had to purchase any since then.
Prajzerica, a lettuce variety from Croatia