Lactuca calophylla C.Jeffrey

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Photo: Penny English
Along the track to Vitumbi peak, Nyika National Park.

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Synonyms:
Common names:
Frequency:	Locally common
Status:	Native
Description:	Perennial herb up to c. 75 cm tall, growing from a large semi-woody taproot, often pyrophytic. Flowering stalks erect, usually solitary, mostly branching above, sparsely to densely set with purple glandular bristly hairs 1.5–4 mm long. Leaves 1–6, more or less prostrate in a basal rosette, elliptic to almost round, 5.5–22 cm long, green above, hairless or with sparse purple bristly hairs, particularly along and near the margins and midrib, purplish or green with a prominent purple venation beneath, with purple bristly hairs on midrib and main veins; midrib winged and petiole-like; margins finely toothed, often ciliate between the teeth. Inflorescence up to c. 25 cm long, narrowly cylindric-pyramidal; bracts ovate, up to c. 2 mm long. Capitula numerous; involucres cylindric, 8–10 mm long at time of flowering, increasing in fruit. Phyllaries 2–3-seriate, green; the outermost ovate, usually less than half the length of the inner; the innermost lanceolate, up to c. 12 mm long. Florets 4–6 per capitulum, yellow with a ligule 9–12 mm. Achenes reddish-brown, ellipsoid, 4.5–5.5 mm long, not or hardly beaked, broadly 2–3-ribbed with 2–3 smaller ribs between; pappus of barbed setae 4–7 mm long.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:
Habitat:	In montane grassland and high rainfall woodland.
Altitude range:
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia
Malawi distribution:	N,C
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Sunday 3 January 2021
Literature:	Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 99. Jeffrey, C. (1966). Notes on Compositae 1; The Cichoriaea in East Tropical Africa. Kew Bulletin 18(3) Pages 439 - 442. Protologue (Includes a picture). Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 31. Pope, G.V. (1992). Compositae Flora Zambesiaca 6(1) Pages 198 - 199. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Lactuca calophylla:

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Flora of Zambia: Lactuca calophylla

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Lactuca calophylla
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Lactuca calophylla
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Lactuca calophylla
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Lactuca calophylla
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iNaturalist: Lactuca calophylla
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Lactuca calophylla
JSTOR Plant Science: Lactuca calophylla
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Lactuca calophylla
Plants of the World Online: Lactuca calophylla
Tropicos: Lactuca calophylla
Wikipedia: Lactuca calophylla