Ballantine books year 1980 isbn 0449905896 description a nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the. Alluring lettuces and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. It is now the most important leafy salad vegetable. Lettuce lactuca sativa is the most important crop in the group of leafy vegetables. Although the exact origins of the lettuce are unknown it was certainly known to the greeks and romans, and has been grown in britain since at least the middle of the sixteenth century. Columbus brought lettuce and seeds on his voyage to the new world, as did most european explorers in their colonization efforts. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. A nice book to read though it is difficult to look. Heirloom lettuce varieties organic gardening mother. Three primary varieties of lettuce are butterhead, cos romaine, and looseleaf. Lettuce simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ryder ej 1980 lettuce breeding in the united states. The book includes history, stories, and lore surrounding the plants, as well as. Lactuca sativa, lettuce or garden lettuce, is a leafy annual or perennial herb in the asteraceae aster or composite family that originated in the mediterranean and near east and is now cultivated commercially and in home gardens worldwide for its leafy greens, which are the most widely used salad crop.
Pollination and life history studies of lettuce lactuca. A lot of details about the history, chemistry and use of narcotic plants, including hallucinogens, stimulants, inebriants and hypnotics. It has been in use in folk medicine since ancient times as both an appetite stimulant and as an aid to sleep. Genus name comes from the latin word lac meaning milk in obvious reference to the milky plant sap. It belongs to the family of asteraceae which comprises between 23,000 and 30,000 species and is thought to be the largest family of plants bayer and starr, 1998. Red leaf lettuce is a sweet and very delicately textured and flavored lettuce. Introduction the lettuce crop is a very important one in california, and the product is shipped in considerable quantity throughout most of the year. Few salad vegetables exceed lettuce in popularity, and you should have little difficulty in growing it. Part of the biotechnology in agriculture and forestry book series agriculture, volume 6.
Lactuca sativa crispa is a annualbiennial growing to 0. Appearance of the unexpected triploids in the hybrid progeny between lettuce, lactuca sativa and its wild relatives, l. It forms within the genus lactuca a somewhat isolated genetic compatibility group with three wild species that also have nine pairs of chromosomes, l. Lettuce is one of the most important yearround salad vegetables. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and uptodate information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in. Pdf chemical constituents from seeds of lactuca sativa. Lactuca sativa crispa cutting lettuce pfaf plant database. It is not difficult to grow lettuce successfully provided you keep in mind that all types need wellprepared soil that is rich in organic material, regular.
Red leaf lettuce, health benefits and nutritional value. Department of agriculture agricultural research service. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps. Xxvii international horticultural congress ihc2006. Common lettuce, lactuca sativa, has its origins in the middle east. The name lactuca sativa is derived from the lactis, meaning milk. Lettuce is cited in the first millennium bce by herodotus and theophrastus. The plants database includes the following species of lactuca. Lactuca virosa was used in the 19th century by physicians when opium could not be obtained. One of the crops suited for this purpose is lactuca sativa l.
They discovered two chemicals responsible for the properties of l. Common varieties are romaine, iceberg, and butter lettuce. The origin of lettuce lactuca sativa is in europe and southwest asia. The mesopotamians, greeks, persians, romans, egyptians, and chinese considered lettuce a leafy delicacy and grew seeds for oil. Still and others published lettuce find, read and cite all. Lettuce was already cultivated by the ancient egyptians, but it is not clear if it was for the production of oil from the seeds, for eating the leaves or as offers for religious purposes. A comparative high performance liquid chromatography hplc study of 11 lactuca species, based on distributional data of 8 sesquiterpene lactones, revealed that 5 species of the subsection lactuca, that is, lactuca dregeana, l. Lactuca sativa lettuce is a member of compositae family. The production of lettuce seed is also an important industry. Several other species, however, yield this product. Egyptian wall murals of min, the god of fertility, depict lettuce in cultivation in about 2700 b. Pilot study of the efficacy and safety of lettuce seed oil. Success in producing a steady supply of fresh, crisp leaves, rich in vitamin a, depends to a great extent upon an understanding of the habits of this plant.
Atlee burpee in 1886, this delightful whiteseeded lettuce originated in northern new york state. Lettuce lactuca sativa is an annual plant of the daisy family, asteraceae. Lettuce lactuca sativa l overview lettuce lactuca sativa l. A taxonomic species within the family asteraceae garden lettuce. The record derives from tica data supplied on 20120211 which reports it as an accepted name record b4e03b98ee4e40129ec0828429990e8e with original publication details. The species is hermaphrodite has both male and female organs and is pollinated by flies. In folk medicine of iran, the seeds of this plant were used for relieving of inflammation and osteodynia. Books published in the mid18th and early 19th centuries describe several varieties found in gardens today. Tracing the history of many varieties is complicated by the practice of many companies, particularly in the us, of changing. Lactuca sativa lettuce is the most important crop in the group of leafy vegetables. Wild lettuce commonly refers to the wildgrowing relatives of common garden lettuce. Lactuca sativa lettuce, garden lettuce pfaf plant database. It is in flower from july to august, and the seeds ripen from august to september. The name of the plant in english, lettuce, and in latin, lactuca, come from lactis, the latin word for milk, because the juice of the plant looks like milk.
Lactuca sativa plant finder missouri botanical garden. While the variety new york is the only one produced for shipping fresh, almost all of the important varieties are grown for seed. Click below on a thumbnail map or name for species profiles. A historical survey is made of the distribution of the groups of lactuca cultivars over the world.
It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. This is the start of a discussion and resource on this topic. Lettuces are made up of over 95 per cent water, but contribute other essential components of our diet such as vitamin a. Lettuce lactuca sativa is one of the most popular and widely consumed vegetables, today and historically. Fresh leaves are an excellent source of several vitamin a and beta carotenes as well as a rich source of vitamin k, vitamin c, and folates, while also containing lots of minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which are very essential for body metabolism. Discover lifes page about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification and distribution of lactuca sativa garden lettuce discover life. Lactuca sativa in the germplasm resources information network grin, u. It was studied extensively by the council of the pharmaceutical society of great britain in 1911.
The name is derived from the latin word lactis, meaning milk, since a milky white sap is found in the stems and thicker veins of lettuce plants. Lactuca sativa article about lactuca sativa by the free. The genome size has been estimated by flow cytometry to be 2. The reference to milk is due to the bitter white sap contained within the stem and thick veins of the plant 10. This principle has been almost bred out of the cultivated forms of lettuce lactuca sativa, but is still produced when the plant starts to go to seed.
In egyptian history there are many battles between the. Lactuca, commonly known as lettuce, is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, asteraceae. One variety, the woju ts, or asparagus lettuce celtuce, is grown for. Production of hairy root cultures of lettuce lactuca sativa l. The history of lettuce plant profiles heirloom gardner. Itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. Growth, yield and quality response to nitrogen fertilization in a noncirculating hydroponic system, journal of plant nutrition, doi. Ars germplasm resources information network lasa3 calphotos lasa3 integrated taxonomic information system lasa3.
Lactuca sativa garden lettuce is a popular salad herb. It is likely that it originated on the mediterranean rim on rocky wasteland or woodland clearings. Lactuca sativa, an annual vegetable of the family compositae. Lactuca sativa is the botanical name for common garden lettuce. Where does the name lettuce come from lactuca sativa is the botanical name for common garden lettuce. Lactuca sativa garden lettuce lactuca serriola prickly lettuce lactuca tatarica blue lettuce lactuca virosa bitter lettuce legal status. Its bestknown representative is the garden lettuce lactuca sativa, with its many varieties.
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