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Lactuca(from the old Latin name lac; referring to the milky juice). Compositae. Lettuce. A well-known group of hardy annual or perennial herbs,mostly native of the northern hemisphere.Plants 2-4 or more feet high, with alternate, variously shaped lvs. and small-panicled heads of yellow, white or blue fls.: involucre cylindric, its bracts imbricated in several series; receptacle flat, naked; rays cut off even at apex, and 5-toothed. — More than 200 specific names have been given to the genus, probably half of which are synonyms with but only 8 or 9 known in cult., and these are doubtless forms of but 2 or 3 species. Aside from garden lettuce, only 1 species appears to be in the trade, though wild plants of other species are often gathered for medicinal purposes. All of the species possess narcotic and sedative properties, the sedative known as lactucarium, or lettuce-opium, being obtained principally from the European species, L. virosa. Lettuce has been known and used as a salad from a very remote period. It is said to have been served at the tables of Persian kings 400 B.C. See Lettuce.
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{{Inc|
{{Inc|
Lactuca (from the old Latin name lac; referring to the milky juice). Compositae. Lettuce. A well-known group of hardy annual or perennial herbs, mostly native of the northern hemisphere.
Lactuca (from the old Latin name lac; referring to the milky juice). Compositae. Lettuce. A well-known group of hardy annual or perennial herbs, mostly native of the northern hemisphere.