Lactuca quercina
| Lactuca quercina | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lactuca quercina (common name: wild lettuce)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in situ and only just cover the seed. Germination is usually fairly quick.
Cultivation: Prefers a light sandy loam[1]. Requires a nitrogen-rich soil[2].
Cultivated, especially in France[3]. (Is this for its medicinal properties?[K])
Range: Europe.
Habitat: Woods and scrub[2].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[4].
Medicinal: 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[5]. The sap contains 'lactucarium', which is used in medicine for its anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic and sedative properties[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Lactucarium has the effects of a feeble opium, but without its tendency to cause digestive upsets[5], nor is it addictive[13]. It is taken internally in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, neuroses, hyperactivity in children, dry coughs, whooping cough, rheumatic pain etc[12]. Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants and most concentrated when the plant comes into flower[12]. 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[5]. An infusion of the fresh or dried flowering plant can also be used[6].
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[12] and overdoses can cause death through cardiac paralysis[13][6].
Some physicians believe that any effects of this medicine are caused by the mind of the patient rather than by the medicine[11].
The sap has also been applied externally in the treatment of warts[14].
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
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References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 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.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.