Lettuce and Its legend.
Contents
Modern lettuce types class.:
1. Crisphead (iceberg types) - large, heavy, tightly folded heads; brittle or crisp textured; prominently veined leaves; wrapper leaves green; inner leaves whitish-yellow; predominantly outdoor types; widely used in N. America.
2. Butterhead (bibb or Boston lettuce types) - soft leaves; smooth texture; varieties bred for both outdoor summer conditions and greenhouse winter conditions; summer butterheads larger and firmer than the winter types; winter butterheads smaller and less compact; popular in N. Europe.
3. Cos (romaine) - elongated leaves developing into large loaf-shaped heads; slower to bolt than other lettuces; useful as a warm-weather crop; popular in S. Europe and the U.S. (CA and AZ).
4. Leaf - local marketing and home garden lettuce; grown mostly in greenhouses in the winter in northern and eastern regions; outdoor types of leaf lettuce have been developed and are grown mostly in CA and AZ.
Main types:
L. scariola - Prickly Lettuce.
L. sativa var. capitata - Head Lettuce
L. sativa var. asparagina - Stem Lettuce.
L. sativa var. crispa - Leaf Lettuce.
L. sativa var. longifolia - Romaine.
There are more than 100 varieties of Lettuce and salad greens. This family contains many weeds of great importance in allergy, e.g., Mugwort and Ragweed.
Lettuce is a cool season annual with milky sap and glabrous (hairless) leaves that grow in a basal rosette at first, then either in a loose or a tightly rolled head, and eventually along an upright stem that supports the flowers. The dandelion-like flowerheads are pale yellow, less than 0.5 in (1.3 cm) across, and borne in dense clusters above the leaves on an erect branching stem. Lettuce is a composite, but it has only ray flowers.
There are five main classes of lettuce. The crisp head or cabbage lettuces are the most popular lettuces in American supermarkets and restaurants. There are hundreds of cultivars, some of which form heads no larger than a tennis ball ('Tom Thumb', 'Mini Green') and are well suited for the home garden. Some are red ('Rosa', 'Rosy'). Typical "iceberg" type heading lettuces are 'Ithaca', the most widely grown commercial lettuce in the eastern US; 'New York', an old standard; and 'Great Lakes', a very dependable and adaptable variety that was named an All American Selection in 1944.
The most popular garden lettuce is 'Black Seeded Simpson', a fast growing leaf lettuce.
The butterhead or bibb lettuces have small, roundish heads with loosely packed leaves that are thick and succulent. Among hundreds of cultivars are 'Buttercrunch', an All American Selection, and an excellent lettuce for the home garden; 'Bibb', an early season type often grown in greenhouses for market; and 'Perella Red', one of the hardiest lettuces, tolerating temperatures to at least 4oF (-15.6oC).
'Buttercrunch' lettuce is sweet and succulent and perfect for sandwiches.
The cos or romaine lettuces have long, broad, upright leaves that form loose heads. They take longer to mature and are more heat tolerant than other kinds of lettuce. The many cultivars include 'Parris Island', developed for the SE US, which is a very uniform lettuce now widely grown commercially and in the home garden; and 'Valmaine', which is larger, more heat tolerant, and has a slightly more open head than 'Parris Island'.
The curled or loose leaf lettuces are non-heading types with loose rosettes of crinkled leaves. These are the easiest to grow and the most popular with the home gardener. Popular cultivars include 'Black Seeded Simpson', introduced prior to 1888, and still the most popular cultivar for the fresh market and the home garden. It is a large upright lettuce, tolerant of hot weather, and very adaptable. 'Ibis' is a beautiful loose leaf lettuce with broad, upright burgundy leaves and a tolerance for cold and heat. 'Red Oak Leaf' has lobed leaves, variegated with red, purple and green depending on growing conditions. 'Red Sails' has fringed leaves variegated with green and maroon. It is non-bitter and has much more vitamin A and vitamin C than other lettuces and was an All American Selection in 1985.
The red leaves of 'Ibis' lettuce brighten up winter salads.
Celtuce (a.k.a. stem lettuce, asparagus lettuce, and Chinese lettuce) is very popular in China but rarely seen in the US. Celtuce has leaves about 6-10 in (15.2-25.4 cm) long and 3-7 in (7.6-17.8 cm) wide that look like and are used like leaf lettuce. But as the plant matures, it develops a thick, to 2 in (5.1 cm) in diameter, elongate stem that is juicy and crisp. When peeled and eaten raw, the stem tastes like the heart of lettuce or, as some claim, a combination of artichoke, asparagus and yellow squash. Cornucopia II lists only four cultivars of celtuce available in the US. (The name, celtuce, was coined by an American seed company in 1942 to convey the image of a lettuce and celery combination.)
Many of the red and purple lettuces make excellent borders around cool season flower beds. These are also effective in cool weather live container arrangements along with pansies, petunias and snapdragons.
Celtuce deserves to be grown in more home vegetable gardens. The leaves can be used in salads and sandwiches in place of other lettuces. The peeled stems have a refreshing crunchy texture and can be added to salads, eaten out of hand, stir fried, or baked or boiled quickly and served with a cream or cheese sauce. The Chinese also pickle celtuce and use it in soups.
Honeymooners usually request their own salad: lettuce alone.
Reference:
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- 1.Lettuce and Its legend.
This article written and edited via herbalist of MDidea Extracts Professional. They run a range of online descriptions about this herb,including general information related and summarized updating discoveries from findings of professional scientisits this field related.Describe style aimed to form a useful detecting literature space where the intertwined threshold and related questions raise out and visualize themselves.
♣ last edit date:20th,Oct.2010.
