Young leaves are edible raw or cooked [2-3]. Tender basal leaves gathered before bolting are usually the mildest. Older leaves become tougher and more bitter. Cooking reduces bitterness and produces a useful potherb. Flowering stems and mature leaves are less worthwhile because fibers and bitter latex increase as the plant develops. The seeds are not regarded as an important traditional food [2-3]. Edibility Rating: 3/5. Canadian lettuce receives an overall edibility rating of 3 out of 5. Young foliage can be a good wild vegetable, especially in moist habitats where the plants grow vigorously. The rating is limited by increasing bitterness with age and by its scarcity across much of the Southwest [2-3]. Taste, Processing & Culinary Use: Young leaves have a mild lettuce-like flavor with a slightly bitter finish. Fresh rosette leaves can be chopped into salads when particularly tender, although tasting a small sample first is worthwhile because bitterness varies. Once the flowering stalk begins elongating, boiling becomes the better preparation. Brief boiling produces a soft green vegetable. For older leaves, discarding the first cooking water reduces bitterness further. Leaves may also be mixed with milder greens rather than eaten alone. The milky sap has a distinctly bitter flavor and should not be deliberately consumed in concentrated quantities. Seasonality (Phenology): Plants establish during spring or sometimes overwinter as basal rosettes. The best leaves are available from spring into early summer. Flowering usually occurs from June through September or October, depending on latitude and elevation. Yellow flower heads are followed by flattened beaked fruits topped with white pappus hairs. Once seed production begins, the foliage rapidly becomes less desirable as food. Safety & Cautions: Canadian lettuce is generally regarded as edible, but large servings of very bitter mature foliage are unnecessary and may cause digestive discomfort in sensitive people. Milky latex should not be treated as a food merely because the leaves are edible. People with allergies to the sunflower family may react to wild lettuces. Plants beside roads, sprayed fields or contaminated drainage should not be gathered. Correct identification is important because other milky-sapped Asteraceae may resemble wild lettuce. Harvest & Processing: Gather basal leaves before the flowering stalk elongates. Choose fresh, undamaged foliage and leave enough leaves for the plant to continue growing. Wash thoroughly. Young leaves may be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Older leaves are best boiled separately, with the cooking water discarded if bitterness is pronounced [2-3]. Traditional Indigenous Uses: Wild lettuces were used as greens by a number of Indigenous peoples, although Canadian lettuce is less prominent in ethnobotanical literature than several western species. Its broad distribution and abundance in moist eastern habitats would have made it readily available as a seasonal green. Use was probably opportunistic rather than a staple. Nutritional Value: Species-specific nutritional data are limited. Like other leafy members of the sunflower family, young foliage is expected to provide water, fiber, carotenoids, folate, vitamin K and modest amounts of minerals. It is a leafy vegetable rather than a calorie-rich food [2-3]. Young leaves and stems - raw or cooked[46, 55, 61, 85, 105, 177]. Cooked and eaten as greens[257].

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


The whole plant is rich in a milky sap that flows freely from any wounds. This hardens and dries when in contact with the air[4]. The sap contains 'lactucarium', which is used in medicine for its anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic and sedative properties[9, 21, 46, 165, 192, 207, 213, 222, 238]. Lactucarium has the effects of a feeble opium, but without its tendency to cause digestive upsets[4], nor is it addictive[7]. It is taken internally in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, neuroses, hyperactivity in children, dry coughs, whooping cough, rheumatic pain etc[238]. Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants and most concentrated when the plant comes into flower[238]. It is collected commercially by cutting the heads of the plants and scraping the juice into china vessels several times a day until the plant is exhausted[4]. An infusion of the fresh or dried flowering plant can also be used[9]. The plant should be used with caution, and never without the supervision of a skilled practitioner. Even normal doses can cause drowsiness whilst excess causes restlessness[238] and overdoses can cause death through cardiac paralysis[7, 9]. Some physicians believe that any effects of this medicine are caused by the mind of the patient rather than by the medicine[213]. The sap has also been applied externally in the treatment of warts[222].

Wildlife & Ecology: The foliage is eaten by various herbivorous insects and mammals. Seeds may be consumed by small birds. Tall flowering plants provide temporary structure in meadow and woodland-edge communities.

Special Uses