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Prickly Lettuce

Lactuca serriola

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

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Height
2–6 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or biennial
Bloom
June to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 98 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

55CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lactuca

  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Agrotis vetustaOld Man Dart
  • Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
  • Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
  • Apamea amputatrixYellow-Headed Cutworm Moth
  • Apamea devastatorGlassy Borer, Glassy Cutworm Moth
  • Apantesis carlottaCarlotta's Tiger Moth
  • Apantesis virgoVirgin Tiger Moth
  • Arctia parthenosSt. Lawrence Tiger Moth
  • Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
Show all 55
  • Cerastis tenebriferaReddish Speckled Dart
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Chytolita morbidalisMorbid Owlet
  • Condica vecorsDusky Groundling
  • Cucullia intermediaIntermediate Cucullia, Goldenrod Cutworm, Dashed Paint, Intermediate Hooded Owlet Moth
  • Dichomeris ligulellaPalmerworm
  • Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
  • Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
  • Euxoa tessellataTessellate Dart, Striped Cutworm
  • 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"
  • Macaria ulsterataBirch Angle, Peacock Moth
  • 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
  • Phalaenostola metonalisPale Epidelta, Pale Phalaenostola
  • Phycitodes reliquellaWhite-Edged Phycitodes
  • Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
  • Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
  • Scopula cacuminariaFrosted Tan Wave
  • Spaelotis clandestinaClandestine Dart, W-Marked Cutworm
  • Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
  • Sutyna privataCheckered Sallow, Private Sallow
  • Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
  • Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
  • Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
  • Xanthopastis regnatrixConvict Caterpillar, Spanish Quaker, Spanish Moth
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • 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)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae

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

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “June to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Height · “2–6 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
  • Life cycle · “Annual or biennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
  • Light · “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

Lactuca scariola

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGNR
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources