Use with caution
Use with caution. Wild lettuce bleeds a bitter milky sap (lactucarium) with mild sedative effects - even normal amounts can cause drowsiness, and large doses are dangerous and have rarely caused serious poisoning. It is far too bitter to eat as a salad green and is used only as a traditional herb in small amounts. Avoid it during pregnancy or alongside sedative medication, and keep it away from children and pets.
Lactuca virosa
herbWild lettuce (Lactuca virosa), sometimes called bitter or opium lettuce, is a tall, imposing biennial relative of garden lettuce that can shoot up to 5 or 6 ft in its second year, with prickly-edged blue-green leaves and a haze of small pale-yellow flowers. When any part is cut it bleeds a bitter, milky white sap (lactucarium) that dries to a brown latex - the substance behind its long folk reputation. It is a robust, weedy, easy plant for a wild corner, grown for its leaves and that milky sap. The first year is a low rosette; the towering flower stalk comes the second.
Sun
full sun
Water
Every 7 days
Harvest
~14 months
to first harvest
Difficulty
easy
Lifecycle
biennial
Leaves year 1, flowers year 2
Spacing
12-18 in. apart
Planting Depth
Surface sow; needs light
Soil pH
6.0-7.5
Soil Type
Average, well-draining
Hardiness Zones
Zones 4 – 9
Grown as an annual — this range is its winter hardiness, but you can grow it for a single season in any zone.
When to Fertilize
Light feed in spring
Fertilizer
Compost; low needs
Wild lettuce is undemanding in average, well-drained soil in full sun, much like its garden cousin but far more vigorous. Direct-sow the fine seed on the surface in spring or fall - it needs light to germinate - and thin to about 12 to 18 in. apart, knowing the second-year plants get tall and broad. Keep lightly moist for good leaf growth, though it tolerates dry spells. As a biennial it makes a rosette the first year and bolts, flowers, and seeds the second; let a plant or two set seed and it will self-sow. Stake if a tall plant leans.
Direct sow
Apr 29
Projected first harvest
Aug 27 · Year 2
Year 1
Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests
Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide
Rinse colonies from the leaves and stems; the vigorous plant usually outgrows them
May chew the low first-year rosette in damp weather - use grit or traps
Give airflow and avoid overhead watering, as lettuce relatives can mildew in cool, wet spells
Harvest the leaves in the second year as the plant comes into flower, when the bitter milky sap is most abundant; cut the upper leaves and stems and dry them. The latex itself is traditionally collected by repeatedly nicking the flowering stem and scraping off the brown dried sap. Wear gloves, as the sap stains and the leaf edges can prickle. The leaves are intensely bitter and are not used as a salad green.
Wild lettuce is grown as a traditional herb rather than a food - its bitter leaves and dried milky latex (lactucarium) have a long folk history, taken as tea or tincture. It is too bitter to eat as a salad green despite being a lettuce relative; in the garden it is a dramatic, towering plant for a wild corner.
Use with caution. Wild lettuce bleeds a bitter milky sap (lactucarium) with mild sedative effects - even normal amounts can cause drowsiness, and large doses are dangerous and have rarely caused serious poisoning. It is far too bitter to eat as a salad green and is used only as a traditional herb in small amounts. Avoid it during pregnancy or alongside sedative medication, and keep it away from children and pets.
For educational and informational purposes only — HomeSown is not medical, health, or other professional advice. Always positively identify any plant before handling or eating it; some plants, and some parts of otherwise-edible plants, are toxic. Consult a qualified professional before consuming or otherwise using any plant, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a health condition.
Year 2