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Woodland Lettuce

Lactuca floridana

Found in moist and moderately dry forests. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

87
Keystone

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

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Height
2–7 feet
Spread
1–2 feet
Light
Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 1.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 44 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or biennial
Bloom
Summer and fall

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 48 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

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
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Blue, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Woodland Blue Lettuce

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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