Wirelettuce

Annual Wirelettuce
(Stephanomeria exigua)

These plants grow about 1 or 2 feet tall, depending on the moisture that has been available. They have wiry stems and narrow leaves. The leaves are edible, but very bitter. The plant exudes a milky sap when cut.

The flower heads are about a half inch across. They have ray flowers only (5 or 6 of them) -- but no disk flowers. They are pale pink or lavender in color. Each ray flower has a toothed tip, with 5 teeth.



A plant which has very similar (but much larger) blossom heads is the Rushpink (Lygodesmia grandiflora).