About Lactuca viminea (L.) J.Presl & C.Presl
Lactuca viminea, commonly called pliant lettuce, is a Eurasian plant species. It belongs to the tribe Cichorieae, which is part of the daisy family Asteraceae. This species is widely distributed across much of Europe and southwestern Asia, ranging from Portugal to Pakistan. Lactuca viminea is a branching subshrub that grows up to 30 cm in height. Its basal leaves are pinnately lobed, while stem leaves are narrow, linear, and unlobed, and get progressively smaller as they grow higher on the plant. The uppermost leaves press against the stem and are nearly scale-like. Each flower head holds 4 to 5 yellow ray flowers, and does not produce any disc flowers. Three recognized subspecies of this taxon exist: Lactuca viminea subsp. chondrilliflora (Boreau) St.-Lag., Lactuca viminea subsp. ramosissima (All.) Arcang., and Lactuca viminea subsp. viminea.
