| |
|
 | |
| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
|
| |
|
|
 |  |  |  |
| External Links: |
|
Lactuca serriola (Prickly Lettuce) |
Lactuca serriola (ASTERACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
|
| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Lactuca serriolaL.
Published in Cent. Pl. 2: 29 (1756) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
|
Plant Family : |
Asteraceae Bercht. & J.Presl (The Daisy or Sunflower Family) Previously included in Compositae
123 species from the Asteraceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Prickly Lettuce, China Lettuce, Compass Plant |
Maltese name(s) : |
Ħass salvaġġ tal-pizzi |
Status for Malta : |
Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Therophyte ( annual plants, herbaceous, die after fruiting/seeding stage ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
May – August |
Colour of Flowers: |
Cream |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Lactuca: Latin for milk, referring to the milky sap present in all parts of all plant forming this genus. (Latin origin)
serriola: old name referring to plants known as endive and chicory. (Latin origin)
|
Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
|
|
Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Annual or biennial. Stem up to 180 cm, rigidly erect, glabrous or setose, branched. Leaves rigid, spinulose on the midrib beneath; basal narrowly obovate-oblong, usually deeply pinnatifid (rarely undivided); cauline less deeply lobed, held vertically. Inflorescence a long, pyramidal or spike-like panicle. Involucre patent or deflexed in fruit. Capitula with 7-15(-35) florets. Ligules pale yellow. Achenes 6-8 mm; body elliptical, setose at apex, 5- to 9-ribbed, greyish; beak as long as body. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Roadsides, waste places and sand-dunes
| |
Preferred habitat in Malta |
Harvested or fallow fields, footpaths and lanes in close to agricultural areas, wasteland with dumped soil and sometimes in streets and curbs at urban areas.
| |
Chromosome number(s) |
2n=18 | |
Distributional range |
Much of Europe, but only as an alien in the north
|
Distributional maps from various sources |
|
Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
All Europe except Faroe Islands, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and former USSR, Svalbard archipelago, occurs in some of these as a casual
|
Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
|
? Ab(A N) AE(G) Ag Al Ar Au(A) Be(B L) BH Bl(I M N) Br Bu By dCa(C F G L P T) Cg Co Cr Cs Ct Cy Da Eg Ga(C F M) Ge Gg Gr He Ho Hs(G S) Hu Ir It Jo Le Lu Ma dMd(M P) Mk Mo Rf(C CS E K N NW S) Rm Sa Si(M S) Sk Sl Sn Sr Sy Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K U) [Au(L) Az(F G L) nCa(H) nEs nFe nHb(E) aHb(N) aIs aLa cLi nLt No nPo Su]
|
|
| Links & Further literature
(1 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
 |
Revision of the Lactuca species (Asteraceae) occurring in the Maltese Islands |
Mifsud, S. & Mifsud, O. (2020) |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
|
|
Sales and Donations
|
 |
Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
|
Online Quotation (Seeds)
|
 |
Buy Images: Purchase photographs from this extensive online collection of Maltese flora by Stephen Mifsud. Images are available at reasonable prices, with rates varying according to image size and resolution. Your purchase helps support the maintenance and development of this website. When placing an order, please note the image code displayed beneath each photograph on the corresponding species page, as this is required when completing the online order form. Images are normally supplied under a license agreement, with copyright retained by the author; however, the sale of copyright for exceptional images may be considered on request.
|
Online Purchase (Images)
|
 |
Support this ad-free website Kindly consider to support this website by giving a small donation which will help to cover some expenses needed to pay the webserver and domains, maintain the website without any adverts, upgrading the code, including more wild plants and photos, and adding further data amongst other developments. You can use the links on the right for direct donations to this website by PayPal or Revolut. Even a 5 or 10 Eur donation is appreciated. Remember this website was ad*free since its launch back in 2002 and has served as an environmental educational tool for over 20 years.
|
💙 Donate by PayPal
💳 Donate by Revolut
|
|
| Contribute Information or Report Errors |
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage.
If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates; species misidentifications; incorrect or outdated information, broken links, technical website issues, or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.
Your contributions help to improve the accuracy and quality of this website. Thank you! Fill any of the three sections (A/B/C) below: .
|
|
|
|
| | |
Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
