Grassleaf Lettuce
Lactuca graminifolia
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 59%
- Height
- Up to about 5 feet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial or perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom
Bloom: NC species account not read yet.
Spread, light, soil and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 23 Alabama counties.
Who uses this plant?
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
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
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
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
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Blue or purple
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Blue or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Biennial or perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Coastal Plain Lettuce; Grass Leaf Lettuce; Grass Leaved Lettuce; Grassleaved Lettuce
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

