lavender Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 This is a plant that we were called on to identify this summer. It was finally pinned done by a weed specialist from Penn State as Lactuca biennsis or tall blue lettuce. Oddly enough I have a smaller version of wild lettuce growing in my herb garden but this thing just left me with my mouth hanging open. It is in the herb garden because it volunteered and the milky sap was used as a sleep aid by herbalists. (Mine that is.) Here is a the last paragraph of the article from the Down to Earth Garden Club newsletter and a picture of the plant. "This plant is a native plant that inhabits moist thickets. It is a member of the Aster family and exudes a milky sap from which comes its name Lactuca. The biennnis part refers to the fact that it is a biennial. While the pictures match and we would never doubt the word of a professor of weed science, there is one question remaining. How did a plant that is listed as attaining a maximum height of 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSTeach Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Neat. Glad you finally got an I.D. on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 Yeah, I thought giant hogweed might have finally crossed the county line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 It's just a great seed that landed in a really perfect spot. Ewell Gibbons would have loved it and made plans to eat it! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snellma Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Wow - it really must like it's location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted August 17, 2008 Author Share Posted August 17, 2008 We grow them big in Pennsylvania. We may be the weed capital of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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