Lactuca (Lettuce genus)

Genus: Lactuca (Lettuce genus)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Asterids > Euasterid II > Order: Asterales > Family: Asteraceae > Tribe: Lactuceae

About 100, cosmopolitan. Three species are native to southern Africa and two species naturalised. In addition, Lettuce Lactuca sativa is cultivated in the region.

Species native to southern Africa

List from Plants of southern Africa - an online checklist (SANBI), Flora of Zimbabwe and Flora of Mozambique.

Lactuca dregeana

Lactuca inermis (Wild Lettuce)

kho-loboto, lekologoto [South Sotho]; iklabeklabe [Zulu]

See KwaZulu-Natal wild flowers by Elsa Pooley p. 220; Wild Flowers of the Highveld by Braam van Wyk and Sasa Malan p. 46. and Flora of Zimbabwe.

Lactuca tysonii

See KwaZulu-Natal wild flowers by Elsa Pooley p. 338.

Species naturalised in southern Africa

List from Plants of southern Africa - an online checklist (SANBI), Flora of Zimbabwe and Flora of Mozambique.

Lactuca indica

Lactuca serriola

See Flora of Zimbabwe.

Other species, cultivated in southern Africa

List from Glen (2002).

Lactuca sativa (Lettuce)

Lettuce originates from the wild Lactuca serriola found in the Mediterranean and Near East and has been transformed from an erect plant with bitter leaves to various cultivars including ones with distinctive heads of chlorophyll deficient leaves.