Lactuca serriola

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Also known as: Prickly lettuce; Compass plant;Sometimes called
wild opium.

Plant folklore: Leaves used to make a green dye. All lactuca yield lactucarium which is a sedative and painkiller and used as a less powerful alternative to opium.
Used as a food by the Greeks and Romans but only at funerals.
Leaves on the main stem follow a north south plane and the plant can be used as a compass.

Factual inf: Bitter tasting, possibly toxic in larger amounts.

• 22 Nov, 2009
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