Flora-Fauna

Lactuca saligna L.

(Sp. Pl.: 796; 1753 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXCIV nº 2; 1969)

• Life-form & habit: Annual or biennial herb, 30–120 cm tall, erect, glabrous or sparsely scabrid, often with a single main stem that branches only above. Latex abundant, white.

• Leaves: Basal leaves oblanceolate, 5–20 × 0.5–3 cm, entire or lobed, soon withering; cauline leaves alternate, narrow, linear-lanceolate, entire or irregularly toothed, sessile, and semi-amplexicaul, clasping the stem with auriculate bases.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Panicle branched, narrow, and elongated with numerous small capitula. Heads 8–10 mm across, each with 5–12 ligulate florets; ligules pale yellow, sometimes tinged bluish beneath. Involucre cylindrical, 7–10 mm long; phyllaries in two series, glabrous, green with narrow scarious margins.

• Fruit: Achenes compressed, oblong, 3–4 mm long, dark brown with 5–10 longitudinal ribs; pappus white, scabrid, 5–7 mm long, easily detached.

• Phenology: Flowers from May to August; fruits mature from June to September.

• Habitat & elevation: Dry, open habitats such as roadsides, fallow fields, and disturbed or sandy ground; from sea level up to 1 500 m. Prefers calcareous or alluvial soils in full sun.

• Lebanese distribution: Widespread across Lebanon — recorded by Mouterde from the coastal plains, Beqaa Valley, and Mount Lebanon foothills (Barouk, Zahlé, Dahr el-Baïdar); locally common in ruderal and steppe vegetation.

• Native to: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Morocco, Netherlands, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, South European Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine (POWO).

• Introduced into: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Gulf States, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, Norfolk Is., North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Poland, Primorye, Queensland, Québec, South Australia, South Carolina, Tasmania, Tennessee, Texas, Uruguay, Victoria, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Western Australia, Wisconsin (POWO).

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: A widely distributed Mediterranean–Eurasian species, easily identified by its very narrow, linear leaves and slender, erect habit. Often confused with Lactuca serriola L., but the latter has broader, runcinate leaves and stiffer, prickly midribs. Lactuca saligna is morphologically adapted to dry, open habitats and often appears as a pioneer species in disturbed soils.