Lactuca pulchella
| Lactuca pulchella | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lactuca pulchella (common name: blue lettuce)
Propagation: Seed - sow April in a greenhouse, only just covering the seed. Germination is usually fairly quick. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring.
Root cuttings in spring[K].
Cultivation: Prefers a light sandy loam[1].
This species is considered to be a noxious weed in N. America where it spreads freely by suckers in cultivated ground - even a small portion of the root can regenerate to form a new plant[2].
Range: N. America - Alaska to Minnesota, south to Missouri, New Mexico and California.
Habitat: Medium-dry to moist soils in fields, thickets of prairies, valleys and in mountains to 2,100 metres[2].
Edibility: Young leaves - raw or cooked[3][2].
A gum obtained from the roots is used for chewing[4][5][2][6].
Medicinal: An infusion of the roots and stems has been given to children in the treatment of diarrhoea[6].
A poultice of the plants has been applied to piles[6].
Although we have seen no other specific reports for this species, most if not all members of the genus have a milky sap that contains the substance 'lactucarium' and can probably be used as the report below details[K].
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[7]. The sap contains 'lactucarium', which is used in medicine for its anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic and sedative properties[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Lactucarium has the effects of a feeble opium, but without its tendency to cause digestive upsets[7], nor is it addictive[15]. It is taken internally in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, neuroses, hyperactivity in children, dry coughs, whooping cough, rheumatic pain etc[14]. Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants and most concentrated when the plant comes into flower[14]. 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[7]. An infusion of the fresh or dried flowering plant can also be used[8].
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[14] and overdoses can cause death through cardiac paralysis[15][8].
Some physicians believe that any effects of this medicine are caused by the mind of the patient rather than by the medicine[13].
The sap has also been applied externally in the treatment of warts[16].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no specific mention of toxicity has been seen for this species, many plants in this genus contain a narcotic principle, this is at its most concentrated when the plant begins to flower. This principle has been almost bred out of the cultivated fo
Also Known As: L. tatarica pulchella. (Pursh.)Breitung.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ Emboden, William. Narcotic Plants. Studio Vista, 1979.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.