Lactuca canadensis
Origin: Holyoke, Massachusetts
Improvement status: Cultivated wild material
Seeds per packet: ~30
Germination tested 12/2020: 78%
Life cycle: Short-lived perennial or Biennial
From our seed source, author and perennial vegetable expert Eric Toensmeier: "A native perennial lettuce. Leaves are good eating, but the best part is during the third year when it flowers. The peeled flower stalk, at about 6-12", with young leaves attached, is very much like a head of romaine lettuce. Produces tan milk [which has various medicinal uses, including against pain, insomnia, digestion issues, spasms, and arthritis] and has a single line of hairs along the midrib on the bottom of the leaf. Usually dies after flowering. Seed from spontaneous plants that have been welcomed here in at Paradise Lot [in Holyoke, Massachusetts]."
