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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE SUNFLOWER FAMILY | |||||||||
| The sunflowers are found around the
globe in many different places, from temperate climates, like in Saskatchewan,
to mountains or in dry regions. The sunflower family is very large and contains
about 19,000 species! As you can imagine, the plants in this family can
look very different from one another. The sunflowers can be shrubs or herbs,
with many different leaf shapes and flower colours. One thing that is common
to all sunflowers is the type of flower arrangement. In this family, there
are many flowers grouped together into a head, like the one you see on a
daisy. It looks like one flower from a distance, but when you get close
you will see that it is actually made up of many, small flowers. The head
may have ray flowers on the outside and disc flowers on the inside, or only
one of the two kinds. Many of the seeds, like the dandelion, have a fluffy
structure attached to the seed. This is called the pappus and helps the
seeds to spread in the wind. You probably know a lot of plants in the sunflower family. Sunflowers can be plants you eat or plants that you may grow in the yard. For example, did you know that lettuce is from the sunflower family? So are the marigolds in the garden! Maybe you have heard of Echinacea? It is a plant in the sunflower family that is used to make medicine. Some of the sunflowers are also weeds, like the dandelion. |
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| TALL BLUE LETTUCE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Lactuca biennis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Tall blue lettuce is 1 to 2.5 m tall with a big, strong taproot. The uppermost leaves have ear-like lobes that clasp the stem. The leaves in the middle have winged stalks that attach to the stem. The lower leaves do not have leaf stalks and the margins are toothed. Between 50 and 100 heads are arranged in a cone-shaped cluster. Each head has 25 to 40 blue or creamy white ray flowers. The bracts on the heads have black tips. The fruits are ribbed and are grey to reddish brown with a reddish to greyish pappus. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Tall blue lettuce grows in moist woods and shrub-thickets. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is in many places in southern and central Saskatchewan. It is found in the following ecoregions: Cypress Upland, Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition, Mid-Boreal Upland, Mid-Boreal Lowland, and Churchill River Upland. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Tall blue lettuce is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because each population is small and the plants are likely threatened by changes in habitat. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY TALL BLUE LETTUCE | |||||||||
| * Is the plant between 1 and 2.5 m tall? * Are the ray flowers creamy white or blue? * Is the pappus greyish or reddish? * Do the bracts have black tips? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found tall blue lettuce! | |||||||||
