Lettuce facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lettuce |
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| An iceberg lettuce field in California | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Lactuca
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| Species: |
sativa
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| Synonyms | |
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Lettuce is a vegetable. Both the stems and the leaves can be eaten.
Contents
Growing lettuce
Lettuce can be grown in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and North America, in temperate climates. It will turn more bitter tasting in hot weather. You can grow lettuce during winter in a greenhouse.
Eating lettuce
In some countries, it is often eaten cold and raw, in salads, hamburgers, tacos, sandwichs, and many other dishes. In some places, including China, lettuce is eaten cooked. Lettuce contains very little energy or nutrients.
Kinds of lettuce
Most lettuce leaves are green, but some are red. Most lettuce leaves taste bitter. Some kinds of lettuce grow in a head shape like cabbage, while the leaves of some kinds grow more loosely.
The five main cultivars are: green leaf, red leaf, cos, crisphead, and stem lettuce.
Common varieties are Romaine, iceberg, and butter lettuce.
The name of the plant in English, lettuce, and in Latin, lactuca, come from lactis, the Latin word for milk, because the juice of the plant looks like milk.
History of lettuce
Wild lettuce plants were eaten by the Romans and Egyptians. The ancient Greeks were among the first people to grow lettuce as a crop. It was one of the first plants brought to the New World by Christopher Columbus.
Images for kids
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L. sativa seeds
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Lettuce flowers
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Mature lettuce inflorescence in fruit
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A lettuce farm in the United Kingdom
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A transplanted bed of lettuce in a polytunnel
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Butterhead lettuce growing in an Oklahoma garden
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A lettuce surrounded by weeds, which have crowded it to the point of bolting
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A lettuce plant that has bolted
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See also
In Spanish: Lechuga para niños
