Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Yellow ), 0 by htop

htop wrote:
Prickly Lettuce, Opium Lettuce, China Lettuce, Wild Lettuce, Compass Plant, Horse Thistle, Milk Thistle (Lactuca serriola), Asteraceae Family, naturalized, annual/biennial, blooms late June through September, invasive, bloom colors: yellow, creamy yellow; blooms often fade to blue or lavender as they dry,

Distribution in Texas:
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/cgi/vpt_map_name?reg=2,4,5,7,...

The alternately arranged leaves alternately range from 2 to 14 inches long and become progressively smaller up the flowering stem. Most of the leaves are lobed and their bases clasp the stem. They have prickles that occur along the leaf margins and along the midvein on the lower leaf surfaces. The leaves have a distinct white midvein and emit a milky sap when cut.

The small blooms of the prickly lettuce appear on branches which emerge from the main stem. There can be 10 to 12 blooms per head. They are very delicate looking. This plant has been used medicinally for centuries. It was given to ease the sypmtoms of whooping cough, other respiratory illnesses and as a relaxant because the sap has the same chemicals that are found in opium. Don't get any ideas ... the ingestion of large quantities can cause poisoning.

Lepidoptera (butterfly) larvae feed on this plant. Several edible lettuces were derived from this plant. It has been used in soap making.

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53160/

Blooms ...