How can I tell the difference between dandelion and wild lettuce?

Question

I have recently gotten into foraging wild edible plants and I am having trouble identifying which is wild lettuce and which is dandelion. They both look the same, making it hard to decipher which one is which. Any distinct differences that you know of that will help me out?

Answer 1

It looks as though the main differences are in height and in the size of the flower. Wild lettuce can grow 10 ft tall while dandelion seldom grows over 18" tall.
As to the flowers, dandelionhave a single stalk and the flowers are about 1 1/2" wide while wild lettuce leaves are only about 1/4", very small.
Other dandelion look-alikes, look-alikes to the uninitiated, anyway...
Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle, Wild Lettuce, Rattlesnake Weed, Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Two-flowered Cynthia, Prickly Lettuce, Yellow Hawkweed, Yellow Goatsbeard, Dwarf Dandelion, Fall Dandelion, Cat's-ear, Lamb Succory, Hairy Lettuce, Nipplewort, Canada Hawkweed, Rough Hawkweed, Panicled Hawkweed, Hairy Hawkweed, Smoothish Hawkweed, Seaside Dandelion, Scalebud, Desert Dandelion, Yellow Tackstem, Nodding Microseris, False Dandelion, Bristly Ox Tongue...
At a quick glance, the flowers of these many plants do look like dandelions, but it doesn't take much to begin to notice the differences.
In some cases the size of the flower is a good hint your dandelion isn't a dandelion at all. Dandelion flowers get up to about 1 1/2" wide. The flowers of Yellow Goatsbeard (Tragopogon dubius) can be more than an inch wider than that. Wild Lettuce flowers (Lactuca canadensis) are only about 1/4" wide.

Another thing to look for is, how many flowers does the stalk bear? Dandelion stalks bear a single flower. The stalk of Yellow Hawkweed (Hieracium pratense) sports several dandelion-like flower heads. The same with Rattlesnake Weed (H. venosum).

Some differences require less 'effort' to notice. Height, for example. Dandelions grow to about 1 1/2' tall. Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle (Sonchus asper) can reach 6' in height. Wild Lettuce can grow as tall as a nose-bloodying 10'! Some of these many wildflowers have hairy stems, some are smooth as a baby's behind. Pointy sepals protrude from behind the petals of Yellow Salsify, giving that one away. And the basal leaves of Rattlesnake Weed are webbed with reddish-purple veins.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How can I tell the difference between dandelion and wild lettuce?
I have recently gotten into foraging wild edible plants and I am having trouble identifying which is wild lettuce and which is dandelion. They both look the same, making it hard to decipher which one is which. Any distinct differences that you know of that will help me out?

Answer 3

I'm assuming 2 things: you're talking about Taraxacum officinale and Lactuca serriola (or saligna), and you're having trouble telling rosettes apart. Taraxacum is generally a deep, vibrant green with leaves that lay flat in an even circle. Lactuca (and Sonchus) has more blue in its leaves, and the leaves are upright and often perpendicular to the ground. Also, they often have tiny prickles along the underside midrib. See photos.

Answer 4

Sorry, I haven't tried wild lettuce so couldn't recognize.

Answer 5

it depends...