Canada Lettuce

Lactuca canadensis

Found in fields, roadsides, disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Very weedy

Native to Alabama. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: 4–10 feet
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to moist

Lactuca canadensis — fruit photograph — (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

Very weedy. Can be difficult to manage in a garden. Hidden from planting suggestions by default; wildlife value remains unchanged. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual or biennial
Bloom: June to November

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 53 Alabama counties.

Habitats

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

44CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Lactuca

Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
Agrotis vetustaOld Man Dart
Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
Apantesis carlottaCarlotta's Tiger Moth
Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
Cerastis tenebriferaReddish Speckled Dart
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Chytolita morbidalisMorbid Owlet
Condica vecorsDusky Groundling

Show all 44

Dichomeris ligulellaPalmerworm
Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Heliothis phloxiphagaSpotted Straw Sun Moth, Darker Spotted Straw Moth
Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
Lacinipolia implicataImplicit Arches
Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
Pagara simplexMouse-Colored Lichen Moth
Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
Phycitodes reliquellaWhite-Edged Phycitodes
Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
Seirarctia echoEcho Moth
Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Virbia rubicundariaRuddy Virbia, Ruddy Holomelina
Xanthopastis regnatrixConvict Caterpillar, Spanish Quaker, Spanish Moth
Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
Eucosma ornatula
Thyraylia bunteana

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

24BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Lactuca

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

9Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Lactuca

Andrena chromotricha
Andrena runcinatae
Ashmeadiella bucconis
Dianthidium curvatum
Dianthidium simile
Melissodes confusus
Melissodes illatus
Melissodes subillatus
Melissodes vernoniae

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lactuca

Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
Perdix perdixGray Partridge
Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Asteraceae
Flower color: Orange or yellow

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “June to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Orange or yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Height · “4–10 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Life cycle · “Annual or biennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Wild Lettuce

Conservation status

Alabama rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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