2. Lettuce (scientific name: Linn. ) is an annual or biennial herb in Compositae. It is 25- 100 cm high, the stem is upright and solitary, the basal leaves and the lower stems and leaves are large and undivided, oblanceolate, oval or elliptical, with a sharp tip, a short cone or a circle, and no stalk. The leaves on the lower part of the spike and the upper part of the spike are extremely small, egg-shaped and heart-shaped, and sessile. The heads are numerous or extremely numerous, arranged in panicles at the top of stems and branches. Achenes are oblanceolate, compressed, light brown, sharp-pointed, and slender, almost as long as achenes. The flowering and fruiting period is from February to September.