Lactuca ludoviciana (Nutt.) Riddell

Leafy-stemmed biennial or possibly short-lived perennial, the stem glabrous, 3–15 dm; lvs prickly or coarsely hairy on the midrib and sometimes also on the main veins beneath, ± prickly-toothed on the margins and usually also pinnately lobed, mostly 7–30 × 3–20 cm; heads relatively large, with 20–56 yellow or occasionally blue or pale lilac fls; invol 15–22 mm in fr; achenes strongly flattened, blackish, with a median nerve on each face, transversely rugulose, 7–10 mm overall, the slender beak equaling or a little shorter than the body; pappus 7–10 mm; 2n=34. Prairies and other open places; w. Ind. to Man., Mont., Colo., and Tex., casually intr. eastw. July–Sept.(L. campestris, the blue-fld form)

Prairies, low ground and roadsides. Usually found in calcareous soils. Openings in woods, stream banks, prairies; at elevations from 100-1,400 metres.

The young leaves are eaten in salads or boiled as greens.

Can be grown by seedlings.