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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Lettuce
| image = Iceberg lettuce in SB.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Iceberg lettuce field in Northern [[Santa Barbara County]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asterales]]
| familia = [[Asteraceae]]
| genus = ''[[Lactuca]]''
| species = '''''L. sativa'''''
| binomial = ''Lactuca sativa''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Lettuce (butterhead) | water=96 g | kJ=55 | protein=1.4 g | fat=0.2 g | carbs=2.2 g | fibre=1.1 g | iron_mg=1.2 | vitC_mg=4 | vitA_ug=166 | folate_ug=73 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
[[Image:2005lettuce_and_chicory.PNG|thumb|left|Lettuce and [[chicory]] output in 2005]]
'''Lettuce''' is a [[temperate]] [[annual plant|annual]] or [[biennial plant]] most often grown as a [[leaf vegetable]]. In some countries, it is typically eaten cold and raw, in [[salad]]s, [[hamburger]]s, [[taco]]s, and many other dishes. In some places, including [[China]], lettuce is typically eaten cooked and use of the stem is as important as use of the leaf. Both the English name and the Latin name of the genus are derived from ''lactis'', the Latin word for "[[milk]]", referring to its milky juice of the plant.
The Lettuce plant has a short stem initially (a [[Rosette (botany)|rosette]] growth habit), but when it blooms the stem lengthens and branches, and it produces many flower heads that look like those of [[dandelion]]s, but smaller. This is called [[wiktionary:bolt#Verb|bolting]]. When grown to eat, lettuce is harvested before it bolts. Lettuce is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]].
== Cultivars ==
[[Image:Lettuce Cultivars by David Shankbone.JPG|thumbnail|left|Some lettuce cultivars]]
[[Image:Romaine.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A [[Romaine lettuce]]]]
There are six commonly recognised [[Cultivar Group]]s of lettuce which are ordered here by head formation and leaf structure; there are hundreds of [[cultivar]]s of lettuce selected for leaf shape and colour, as well as extended field and shelf life, within each of these Cultivar Groups:
*'''Butterhead''', also called '''Boston''' or '''Bibb''' forms loose heads; it has a buttery [[Texture (food)|texture]]. Butterhead cultivars are most popular in Europe.
*'''Chinese lettuce''' types generally have long, sword-shaped, non-head-forming leaves, with a bitter and robust flavour unlike Western types, appropriate for use in [[stir frying|stir-fried]] dishes and [[stew]]s. Chinese lettuce cultivars are divided into "stem-use" types (called [[celtuce]] in English), and "leaf-use" types such as ''youmaicai'' ({{zh-cp|c=油麦菜|p=yóumàicài}}) or ''shengcai'' (生菜).
*'''Crisphead''', also called '''Iceberg''', which form tight, dense heads that resemble [[cabbage]]. They are generally the mildest of the lettuces, valued more for their crunchy [[Texture (food)|texture]] than for flavour. Cultivars of iceberg lettuce are the most familiar lettuces in the [[USA]]{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. The name Iceberg comes from the way the lettuce was transported in the US starting in the 1920s on train-wagons covered in crushed ice, making them look like icebergs.
*'''Looseleaf''', with tender, delicate, and mildly flavoured leaves. This group comprises oak leaf and lollo rosso lettuces.
*'''[[Romaine lettuce|Romaine]]''', also called '''Cos''', is a head-forming type with elongated leaves.
*'''Summer Crisp''', also called '''Batavian''', which form moderately dense heads with a crunchy texture; this type is intermediate between iceberg and looseleaf types.
Some lettuces (especially iceberg) have been specifically bred to remove the bitterness from their leaves. These lettuces have a high water content with very little nutrient value. The more bitter lettuces and the ones with pigmented leaves contain [[antioxidant]]s.
==Diseases==
{{Main|List of lettuce diseases}}
== Facts and figures ==
[[Image:Lettuces.JPG|thumbnail|right|More lettuce cultivars]]
* [[Lactucarium]] (or "Lettuce Opium") is a mild [[opiate]]-l
ike substance that is contained in all types of lettuce and both the Romans and Egyptians took advantage of this property eating lettuce at the end of a meal to induce sleep.<ref>[http://www.selfsufficientish.com/lettuce.htm "Lettuce - ''Lactuca sativa'' - Daisy family"]. Hamilton, Dave (2005).</ref>
* The largest lettuce head was one that weighed 11 [[Kilogram|kg]] (25 [[Pound (mass)|lb]]), of the Salad Bowl cultivar, grown by Colin Bowcock of [[Willaston]], [[England]], in [[1974]].
* In the [[United States]], 95% of all head lettuce is grown in [[California]] and [[Arizona]].
* [[Yazidi]]s consider eating lettuce taboo. ''See [[Taboo food and drink]]''.
==Notes==
<references/>
==References==
{{Wikibooks|Gardening/Lettuce}}
* [http://vric.ucdavis.edu/selectnewcrop.lettuce.htm "Iceberg and Leaf Lettuce"], University of California
[[Category:Asteraceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Lettuce
| image = Iceberg lettuce in SB.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Iceberg lettuce field in Northern [[Santa Barbara County]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asterales]]
| familia = [[Asteraceae]]
| genus = ''[[Lactuca]]''
| species = '''''L. sativa'''''
| binomial = ''Lactuca sativa''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Lettuce (butterhead) | water=96 g | kJ=55 | protein=1.4 g | fat=0.2 g | carbs=2.2 g | fibre=1.1 g | iron_mg=1.2 | vitC_mg=4 | vitA_ug=166 | folate_ug=73 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
[[Image:2005lettuce_and_chicory.PNG|thumb|left|Lettuce and [[chicory]] output in 2005]]
'''Lettuce''' is a [[temperate]] [[annual plant|annual]] or [[biennial plant]] most often grown as a [[leaf vegetable]]. In some countries, it is typically eaten cold and raw, in [[salad]]s, [[hamburger]]s, [[taco]]s, and many other dishes. In some places, including [[China]], lettuce is typically eaten cooked and use of the stem is as important as use of the leaf. Both the English name and the Latin name of the genus are derived from ''lactis'', the Latin word for "[[milk]]", referring to its milky juice of the plant.
The Lettuce plant has a short stem initially (a [[Rosette (botany)|rosette]] growth habit), but when it blooms the stem lengthens and branches, and it produces many flower heads that look like those of [[dandelion]]s, but smaller. This is called [[wiktionary:bolt#Verb|bolting]]. When grown to eat, lettuce is harvested before it bolts. Lettuce is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]].
== Cultivars ==
[[Image:Lettuce Cultivars by David Shankbone.JPG|thumbnail|left|Some lettuce cultivars]]
[[Image:Romaine.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A [[Romaine lettuce]]]]
There are six commonly recognised [[Cultivar Group]]s of lettuce which are ordered here by head formation and leaf structure; there are hundreds of [[cultivar]]s of lettuce selected for leaf shape and colour, as well as extended field and shelf life, within each of these Cultivar Groups:
*'''Butterhead''', also called '''Boston''' or '''Bibb''' forms loose heads; it has a buttery [[Texture (food)|texture]]. Butterhead cultivars are most popular in Europe.
*'''Chinese lettuce''' types generally have long, sword-shaped, non-head-forming leaves, with a bitter and robust flavour unlike Western types, appropriate for use in [[stir frying|stir-fried]] dishes and [[stew]]s. Chinese lettuce cultivars are divided into "stem-use" types (called [[celtuce]] in English), and "leaf-use" types such as ''youmaicai'' ({{zh-cp|c=油麦菜|p=yóumàicài}}) or ''shengcai'' (生菜).
*'''Crisphead''', also called '''Iceberg''', which form tight, dense heads that resemble [[cabbage]]. They are generally the mildest of the lettuces, valued more for their crunchy [[Texture (food)|texture]] than for flavour. Cultivars of iceberg lettuce are the most familiar lettuces in the [[USA]]{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. The name Iceberg comes from the way the lettuce was transported in the US starting in the 1920s on train-wagons covered in crushed ice, making them look like icebergs.
*'''Looseleaf''', with tender, delicate, and mildly flavoured leaves. This group comprises oak leaf and lollo rosso lettuces.
*'''[[Romaine lettuce|Romaine]]''', also called '''Cos''', is a head-forming type with elongated leaves.
*'''Summer Crisp''', also called '''Batavian''', which form moderately dense heads with a crunchy texture; this type is intermediate between iceberg and looseleaf types.
Some lettuces (especially iceberg) have been specifically bred to remove the bitterness from their leaves. These lettuces have a high water content with very little nutrient value. The more bitter lettuces and the ones with pigmented leaves contain [[antioxidant]]s.
==Diseases==
{{Main|List of lettuce diseases}}
== Facts and figures ==
[[Image:Lettuces.JPG|thumbnail|right|More lettuce cultivars]]
* [[Lactucarium]] (or "Lettuce Opium") is a mild [[opiate]]-l
ike substance that is contained in all types of lettuce and both the Romans and Egyptians took advantage of this property eating lettuce at the end of a meal to induce sleep.<ref>[http://www.selfsufficientish.com/lettuce.htm "Lettuce - ''Lactuca sativa'' - Daisy family"]. Hamilton, Dave (2005).</ref>
* The largest lettuce head was one that weighed 11 [[Kilogram|kg]] (25 [[Pound (mass)|lb]]), of the Salad Bowl cultivar, grown by Colin Bowcock of [[Willaston]], [[England]], in [[1974]].
* In the [[United States]], 95% of all head lettuce is grown in [[California]] and [[Arizona]].
* [[Yazidi]]s consider eating lettuce taboo. ''See [[Taboo food and drink]]''.
==Notes==
<references/>
==References==
{{Wikibooks|Gardening/Lettuce}}
* [http://vric.ucdavis.edu/selectnewcrop.lettuce.htm "Iceberg and Leaf Lettuce"], University of California
[[Category:Asteraceae]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]