Page author: David Giblin
Valerianella locusta
lamb's-lettuce
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia south to California, east to the Rocky Mountains; eastern half of North America east of the Great Plains.

Habitat: Moist, open places, often in disturbed soil.

Flowers: April-May

Origin: Introduced from Europe

Growth Duration: Annual

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Self-pollination, generalist

Description:
General:

Annual herb, the weak stem 1-4 dm. tall, simple or dichotomously few-branched.

Leaves:

Leaves opposite; lower leaves broadly oblanceolate, petiolate; other leaves oblong, sessile, mostly entire, 1-7 cm. long and 3-18 mm. wide.

Flowers:

Flowers in several small, compact clusters 3-15 mm. wide at the ends of the branches; calyx obsolete; corolla united, the 5 lobes about equal and equaling the funnel-shaped tube, 1.5-2 mm. long, white or pale bluish, the tube with a small bulge on the side; stamens 3; stigma 3-lobed; ovary inferior, 3-celled, with two cells sterile.

Fruits:

Fruit dry, about 2 mm. long, the fertile cell with a corky mass on the back.

Accepted Name:
Valerianella locusta (L.) Laterr.
Publication: Sp. Pl. 1: 33-34. 1753.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
Valerianella olitoria (L.) Pollich
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Valerianella locusta in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Valerianella locusta checklist entry

OregonFlora: Valerianella locusta information

E-Flora BC: Valerianella locusta atlas page

CalPhotos: Valerianella locusta photos

32 photographs:
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