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The Prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola) belongs to Asteraceae (the Aster family). It is an annual or a biennial herb that is native to Europe. It is now distributed throughout most of the world. It grows in wastelands and along roadsides, and grows to about 1.5 m tall. It has stiff spines on the lower part of the stem, at the leaf margins, and on the veins of the underside of the leaf. The stem is erect, and the leaves are long ovate, with many variations from nearly entire to pinnately deeply lobed. Yellowish-white flower heads, about 1 cm in diameter, are borne in abundance on branched twigs from July to September.
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