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Wall Lettuce
Lactuca muralis
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Wall Lettuce is a slender, shade‑loving perennial with loose, airy sprays of small yellow flower heads. It often grows along walls, in shady woods and on paths and garden edges. Each little yellow head shows only five narrow “petals,” giving the plant a delicate look.
Did you know?
- Its Latin name muralis means “growing on walls.”
- Each tiny yellow head has just five narrow “petals,” unlike most similar lettuces.
About the species
Identification
Tall, delicate plant, 30–90 cm. Stem thin, smooth, often with a purplish tint, branching near the top. Lower leaves on long stalks, divided into side lobes with a large triangular end lobe; thin, smooth, bluish‑green underneath. Upper leaves have small ear‑like bases that hug the stem. The top holds open, many‑branched sprays of small yellow heads, each with five narrow ‘petals’. When seeding, it carries small dark seeds with a white fluff parachute. Differs from other wild lettuces by the 5‑petalled heads and airy, open clusters. Flowers in Finland in July–August.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
herb-rich forest
Flowering
Jul–Aug
About the habitat
Likes shady, moist, nutrient‑rich places: deciduous and spruce woods, stream valleys, rocky slopes, ruins and shady walls, as well as shaded roadsides, clear‑cuts, gardens and sidewalks. Common in the southernmost part of the country and in Åland; elsewhere in southern Finland it is rare.
Sources
Photo: Kristian Peters -- Fabelfroh 07:53, 20 October 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mycelis muralis.jpeg
Text: Pinkka: Kasvitieteen retkeily Ahvenanmaalle - Nåtö ja Västerskog, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39947
Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.39947
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactuca_muralis
