Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa)

Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa): a European herb with a long folk history

Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) is a biennial herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family, native to South and Central Europe and naturalised across much of the wider continent. The product is the dried, shredded leaf. The plant's common alias, opium lettuce, is a folk name that has followed it through centuries of European herbal tradition, it says something about the plant's place in that history, without saying anything about what it does. All parts of the plant produce a white milky latex known as lactucaria, which gives the herb its distinctly bitter character. Coming from an entirely different family, our Incense Californian White Sage is another dried botanical, only it arrives as whole leaf meant for burning rather than shredded material.

Preparing Wild Lettuce: tea and bain-marie extract

The most straightforward preparation is a tea. Use 1-2 teaspoons of dried leaf per cup, pour over boiling water, steep for 10-15 minutes, then strain. The taste is bitter and slightly earthy, not subtle, so be ready for that. Unlike chamomile or other mild herbal teas, this one makes itself known from the first sip.

For a more concentrated preparation, a bain-marie extract works well. Add the dried leaves to water and heat in a bain-marie, a pot set inside a larger pot of simmering water, at low, indirect heat. Reduce slowly, strain out the plant material, then return the liquid to the bain-marie and continue reducing until you reach a thick, dark extract. The process takes patience. Direct heat risks burning the extract and is best avoided entirely.

Advisory Information

Lactuca virosa contains bitter alkaloids, lactucerin, lactucin, and lacticin, present in the plant's milky latex (lactucaria). Large quantities or improperly prepared material can cause adverse effects. Handle and prepare this herb with care. Not suitable for persons under 18. Insufficient data on use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Consult a health professional when using medication, or if suffering from an illness or health complaint. Alongside it you'll find dried herbs, resins and essential oils in the same section.

There is no published temperature for wild lettuce, so begin low and work up through the vape herbs bands. Passionflower is the closest in tradition and vaporizes at 145 C, while Damiana comes from the opposite side of the Atlantic with a very different reputation.

Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) data sheet

Type	Loose-leaf tea

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