Lactuca quercina
speciesAt a glance
Sources13 archives
Databases and archives Lactuca quercina's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation9 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility1 316 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI1 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics1 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Lactuca quercina is a species of wild lettuce native to Europe and Asia. It is an annual or biennial herb in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae growing from a taproot to maximum heights of 50 – or more. Lactuca quercina contains lactucarium, which is the milky sap (white latex) that flows through the stem, leaves, and roots of the plant. It is used as a medicinal herb when dried after contact with air. It may be used as medicinal treatments for its anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic, and sedative properties. Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants, but increase in older plants, occurring highest when in blooming period. Sap may be applied to skin in use for treatment of external warts. Although the standard definition of lactucarium requires its production from Lactuca virosa, it was recognized that smaller quantities of lactucarium could be produced in a similar way from Lactuca sativa and Lactuca canadensis var. elongata, and even that lettuce-opium obtained from Lactuca serriola or Lactuca quercina was of superior quality.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology7
Life cycle & reproduction10
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment7
Physiology & chemistry2
Other traits1
Compounds documented for Lactuca quercina across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile4 classes
Documented compounds22 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (3aS,4R,9aR,9bS)-4-hydroxy-9-(hydroxymethyl)-6-methyl-3-methylidene-4,5,9a,9b-tetrahydro-3aH-azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2,7-dione | present | LOTUS | |
| (3aS,5R,6aR,8S,9aR,9bS)-5,8-dihydroxy-3,6,9-trimethylidene-3a,4,5,6a,7,8,9a,9b-octahydroazuleno[4,5-b]furan-2-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (3aS,5R,6aR,8S,9aR,9bS)-5-hydroxy-3,6,9-trimethylidene-8-[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-3a,4,5,6a,7,8,9a,9b-octahydroazuleno[4,5-b]furan-2-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (3aS,6E,10Z,11aR)-6-methyl-3-methylidene-10-[[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxymethyl]-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydrocyclodeca[b]furan-2-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,3aS,5R,6aR,8S,9aR,9bS)-5,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl-6,9-dimethylidene-3a,4,5,6a,7,8,9a,9b-octahydro-3H-azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,3aS,6aR,8S,9aR,9bS)-3-methyl-6,9-dimethylidene-8-[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-3a,4,5,6a,7,8,9a,9b-octahydro-3H-azuleno[4,5-b]furan-2-one | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,3aS,6E,9R,10E,11aS)-3,10-dimethyl-2-oxo-9-[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydro-3H-cyclodeca[b]furan-6-carbaldehyde | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,3aS,6E,9S,10E,11aS)-9-hydroxy-3,10-dimethyl-2-oxo-3a,4,5,8,9,11a-hexahydro-3H-cyclodeca[b]furan-6-carbaldehyde | present | LOTUS | |
| 11beta,13-Dihydrolactucin | present | LOTUS | |
| 11beta,13-Dihydrolactucopicrin | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Lactuca quercina has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Lactuca quercina carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 1816×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · slov-fl · CCDB · fl-europaea +3
diploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
Record type1 316 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions8 of 24 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| BRNUlocation not on record | 89 |
| LDlocation not on record | 25 |
| Moscow State Universitylocation not on record | 19 |
| GJOlocation not on record | 11 |
| GBS RAN - Glavny Botanichesky Sad Rossijskoj Akademii Nauklocation not on record | 9 |
| Oskarshamn, SE | 9 |
| Görlitz, DE | 8 |
| Uppsala, SE | 7 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 7 |
| Berlin, DE | 7 |
| GZUlocation not on record | 5 |
| PRClocation not on record | 4 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 4 |
| Wlocation not on record | 3 |
| Naturhistorische Gesellschaft Nürnberg e.V.location not on record | 3 |
| LfUlocation not on record | 3 |
| Dresden, DE | 2 |
| Karlsruhe, DE | 1 |
| Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologielocation not on record | 1 |
| Stockholm, SE | 1 |
| Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsinlocation not on record | 1 |
| NLD037location not on record | 1 |
| Fulda, DE | 1 |
| GMBAlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Lactuca quercina was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.