Is bitter lettuce dandelion? A detailed explanation of the differences between the two

Those who come from rural areas generally know bitter lettuce and dandelion, and both are indispensable childhood memories. So is bitter lettuce dandelion? What is the difference between the two?

1. Is bitter lettuce dandelion?

Bitter lettuce is not dandelion, but a common wild vegetable that can be eaten and also has certain medicinal value. Because its taste is very bitter, it is called bitter lettuce.

Bitter lettuce is also called bitter sowthistle, and its medicinal name is Patrinia scabiosaefolia, with alternative names including maiden flower and deer intestine horse grass. It is commonly known among the people as bitter lettuce, and also has aliases such as celestial fragrance vegetable, bitter sowthistle, sweet horse vegetable, old stork vegetable, and no-fragrance vegetable. Because its leaves resemble a snake shape, it is also called snake insect seedling in Shandong. It grows in fields, roadsides, and near village houses. Its tender stems and leaves contain rich carotene, VB2, and VC, and can be eaten. The whole plant of bitter lettuce is used as medicine and has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, removing dampness, and lowering blood pressure. Its tender stems and leaves can be eaten raw, or blanched in boiling water, then soaked in clean water to remove the bitter taste, and then eaten cold or stir-fried.

“Bitter lettuce” actually does not refer to a single kind of wild vegetable, but includes more than 30 species of Asteraceae plants. Their common characteristics are being both medicinal and edible, with tender stems and leaves used by people as a wild vegetable, and all of them taste very bitter. Among them, purple-flowered bitter lettuce is the most beneficial to human health.

2. How to distinguish bitter lettuce from dandelion?

1. Leaves: The leaves of bitter lettuce are narrow and long, about 8 to 20 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide, with sparse shallow cracks along the leaf edges. Dandelion leaves are even narrower and longer, with diverse leaf shapes and relatively deep cracks along the edges.

2. Flower color: The flower color of bitter lettuce is tender yellow, with slender styles, opening at the top, and the flowering period is from July to March of the following year, so the flowering period is relatively long. The flower color of dandelion tends to be bright yellow, more vivid than the former, and the flowering period is from April to September.

Bitter lettuce and dandelion look relatively similar, but it is not dandelion, and there are differences between the two.