''Lactuca tetrantha'', the Troödos lettuce, is an erect, lactiferous, perennial herb, 10–30 cm high. Leaves hairless, deeply dissected, the basal in rosette, oblong, 3-12 x 0.8-2.5 cm, often purplish-green, the upper alternate, smaller. Flowers in
capitula, arranged in corymbs, florets 4,
ligulate
A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf and leafstalk of many Poaceae, grasses (family Poaceae) and Cyperaceae, sedges (family Cyperaceae). A ligule is also a strap-shap ...
, yellow, reddish at the lower surface, flowers July–October, fruit a pappose
achene
An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...
.
[The Endemic Plants of Cyprus, Texts: Takis Ch. Tsintides, Photographs: Laizos Kourtellarides, Cyprus Association of Professional Foresters, ]Bank of Cyprus
The Bank of Cyprus (BoC; ; ) is a Cypriot financial services company established in 1899 with its headquarters in Strovolos.
Bank of Cyprus has been designated as a Significant Institution since the entry into force of European Banking Supervisio ...
Group, Nicosia
Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
1998,
Habitat
Rocky hillsides and rock crevices on serpentinised rocks at 1500–1900 m altitude.
Distribution
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
where it is restricted to the higher parts of the
Troödos Forest, mostly around Khionistra where it is not uncommon.
References
* Cyprus Flora in Colour the Endemics, V. Pantelas, T. Papachristophorou, P. Christodoulou, July 1993,
External links
*
*
tetrantha
Endemic flora of Cyprus
{{Cichorieae-stub