Editing Lettuce (section)

== Taxonomy and etymology ==
[[File:Lactuca sativa seeds.jpg|thumb|''L. sativa'' seeds]]
''Lactuca sativa'' is a member of the ''[[Lactuca]]'' (lettuce) genus and the [[Asteraceae]] ([[helianthus|sunflower]] or [[aster (genus)|aster]]) family.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=36607|title=''Lactuca sativa'' L|publisher=Integrated Taxonomic Information System|access-date=27 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025171631/http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=36607|archive-date=25 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The species was first described in 1753 by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the second volume of his ''[[Species Plantarum]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/linnaean-typification/search/detail.dsml?ID=492400&listPageURL=list%2edsml%3fVarqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CVarqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CGenusqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CSpeciesqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26Species%3dsativa%26sort%3dGenus%252cSpecies%26Speciesqtype%3dequals%26Genus%3dLactuca%26Genusqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CSspqtype%3dstarts%2bwith|title=The Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project|year=2022 |publisher=Natural History Museum|doi=10.5519/qwv6u7j5 |access-date=17 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222085030/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/linnaean-typification/search/detail.dsml?ID=492400&listPageURL=list%2edsml%3fVarqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CVarqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CGenusqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CSpeciesqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26Species%3dsativa%26sort%3dGenus%252cSpecies%26Speciesqtype%3dequals%26Genus%3dLactuca%26Genusqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26CSspqtype%3dstarts%2bwith|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live |author1=Natural History Museum }}</ref> Synonyms for ''L.&nbsp;sativa'' include ''Lactuca scariola'' {{abbr|var.|variety}} ''sativa'',<ref name="Kew" /> ''L.&nbsp;scariola'' {{abbr|var.|variety}} ''integrata'' and ''L.&nbsp;scariola'' {{abbr|var.|variety}} ''integrifolia''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LASA3|title=''Lactuca sativa'' L|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=2 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608120552/http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LASA3|archive-date=8 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''L.&nbsp;scariola'' is itself a [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] for ''[[Lactuca serriola|L.&nbsp;serriola]]'', the common wild or prickly lettuce.<ref name="USDA">{{cite web|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LASE|title=''Lactuca serriola'' L|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=2 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605153004/http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LASE|archive-date=5 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''L.&nbsp;sativa'' also has many identified taxonomic [[species complex|groups]], [[subspecies]] and [[Variety (botany)|varieties]], which delineate the various [[cultivar group]]s of domesticated lettuce.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/misc/mmpnd/Lactuca.html|title=Sorting ''Lactuca'' Names|work=Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database|publisher=University of Melbourne|author=Porcher, Michael H.|access-date=2 April 2012|year=2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916125457/http://www.ars-grin.gov/misc/mmpnd/Lactuca.html|archive-date=16 September 2012}}</ref> Lettuce is closely related to several ''Lactuca'' species from southwest Asia; the closest relationship is to ''L.&nbsp;serriola'', an aggressive [[weed]] common in temperate and subtropical zones in much of the world.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hHSYoqY-AwC&pg=PA157|title=Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Domesticated Plants in Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin|author1=Zohary, Daniel|author2=Hopf, Maria|author3=Weiss, Ehud|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-954906-1|page=157|access-date=10 January 2016|archive-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723001748/https://books.google.com/books?id=1hHSYoqY-AwC&pg=PA157|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Romans referred to lettuce as {{lang|la|lactuca}} ({{lang|la|lac}} meaning "[[milk]]" in [[Latin]]), an allusion to the white substance, [[latex]], exuded by cut stems.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Weaver |first=William Woys |title=Heirloom vegetable gardening: a master gardener's guide to planting, growing, seed saving, and cultural history |date=1997 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-0-8050-4025-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=170–172}}</ref> The name ''Lactuca'' has become the genus name, while {{lang|la|sativa}} (meaning "sown" or "cultivated") was added to create the species name.<ref name="Katz376">Katz and Weaver, p. 376.</ref> The current word ''lettuce'', originally from [[Middle English]], came from the [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|letues}} or {{lang|fro|laitues}}, which derived from the Roman name.<ref>{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000unse_x2z7/page/300 300]|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories|editor=Chantrell, Glynnis|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=0-19-863121-9|url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000unse_x2z7/page/300}}</ref> The name ''romaine'' came from the variety of lettuce grown in the Roman papal gardens, while {{Lang|la|cos}}, another term for [[romaine lettuce]], came from the earliest European seeds of the type from the Greek island of [[Kos]], a center of lettuce farming in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Weaver |first=William Woys |title=Heirloom vegetable gardening: a master gardener's guide to planting, growing, seed saving, and cultural history |date=1997 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-0-8050-4025-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=172}}</ref>