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May 27, 2010
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Oak Hill Trail (on the right, 30 meters before the fork to the field plateau), Oak Hill Road, Concord, New Hampshire
Only one plant found.
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Lettuce identification is such a struggle!!! I am moderately sure that this is Prickly
Lettuce. When looking at Prickly Lettuce pictures online at botany web sites, sometimes
the Prickly Lettuce leaves have significant lobes similar to the pictures to
the right and sometimes there are little or no lobes on the leaves. For example,
the Prickly Lettuce leaves at the
University of Wisconsin Herbarium site have little or no lobes but
the Prickly Lettuce leaves at the
Cal Photos site have significant lobes.
One reason I am confident that this is Prickly Lettuce is that there are obvious
prickles on the edges (margin) of the leaves as well as on the midrib of the lower
leaf surface. Looking at the pictures to the right, you can see the prickles on
the edge of the leaves and can barely make out the prickles on the middle rib
going down the backs of the leaves. Prickly lettuce can look a little bit
like some Sowthistles (Sonchus L.). They both have prickles on the
leaf margin. But one difference is that Sowthistles
are not prickly on the midrib of the underside of the leaf.
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