Lactuca schweinfurthii Oliv. & Hiern

Species

Angiosperms > Asterales > Asteraceae > Lactuca

Characteristics

Perennial herb with erect stems 1.4–2.4 m high; taproot fleshy or semi-woody; stems solitary or in pairs, often purplish proximally, ribbed, sparsely glandular-setose with purple setae.. Leaves all cauline, lanceolate, 4–24 cm long, 1–4.5 cm wide, base cuneate to rounded or semi-amplexicaul, margins sinuate-dentate, apex acute, sparsely setose to subglabrous.. Capitula many, in lax panicle to 40 cm long; involucre cylindric to narrowly campanulate, 6–10.5 mm long; phyllaries often purplish, ovate to lanceolate, 3–10 mm long, glabrous except for the ciliate margins in the outermost and the ciliate-lobed apices.. Florets ± 5 per capitulum; corolla yellow, tube cylindric, 2–2.5 mm long, ligule erect, 4–5.5 mm long.. Achenes orange to dark brown, flattened ellipsoid, 4–4.5 mm long, not or hardly beaked, 1(–2)-ribbed on each side, minutely puberulous; pappus white, 3–5.5 mm long.. Fig. 20/4 (achene).
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Leaves cauline, somewhat crowded below; the lowermost up to c. 20 x 4.5 cm., lanceolate to narrowly elliptic undivided, acute, ± shallowly sinuate-dentate and irregularly denticulate on the margins, attenuate to rounded and shortly petiole-like at the base, glabrous or setose on the midrib and nerves beneath; upper leaves decreasing in size towards the stem apex becoming lanceolate sessile amplexicaul and sparsely setulose or glabrescent.
Achenes dark-brown to black, hardly or very shortly beaked, c. 4.5 x 2 mm., broadly ellipsoidal, strongly flattened, margins thickened, narrowly 1-ribbed or occasionally 2-ribbed on each face, minutely hispidulous; pappus several-seriate of white barbellate setae c. 5.5 mm. long.
Capitula stalked, ± aggregated in loose clusters; involucres 6–8 x 1.5–2 mm. at time of flowering, increasing to c. 10 x 4 mm. in fruiting capitula, cylindric to narrowly campanulate, glaucous, often purple-tinged.
Phyllaries 2–3-seriate, increasing in length towards the inside, ciliolate-pubescent above and often subapically corniculate; the outermost ovate, the innermost up to 10 mm. long, narrowly lanceolate, obtuse.
Corollas 8–10 mm. long, yellow; tubes slender, glabrous; ligule erect, c. 5.5 mm. long, narrowly obovate-lorate, lobes up to 1 mm. long, minutely papillose above.
Stems solitary simple striately ribbed, glaucous often purple-tinged below, sparsely glandular-setose; setae up to c. 3 mm. long, patent, usually dark-purple.
Synflorescence an elongate terminal panicle; branches up to c. 15 cm. long, slender, patent-ascending, sparsely setulose or glabrescent, bracteate.
Inflorescence spreading with numerous flower-heads about 1/2 in. long
An erect perennial herb to c. 2.4 m. tall, from a semi-woody taproot.
A perennial herb erect hispid-setulose stems up to about 6 ft. high
Florets c. 5 per capitulum.
Florets mauve or yellow.
A herb.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.66 - 2.11
Root system tap-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant.
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Open grassland.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The leaves are eaten raw.
Uses food gene source
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Lactuca schweinfurthii world distribution map, present in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Malawi, South Sudan, Tanzania, United Republic of, and Zambia

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:228248-1
WFO ID wfo-0000089410
COL ID 3RTCD
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Lactuca schweinfurthii