A biennial plant having a solid stem, 2 to 4 feet high, prickly near the base, branching above, and producing more or less leafy panicles of small, pale yellow flower-heads. Leaves are lanceolate to broadly oblong in shape, the lower leaves being sessile and the upper leaves amplexicaul, with coarsely toothed, or more or less deeply lobed, margin, and bearing stiff bristles or prickles on the under surface of the midrib and lateral veins. Florets number six to twelve. Fruit is small, flattened, and bears a slender beak about as long as the fruit.

Anodyne, antispasmodic, digestive, diuretic, hypnotic, narcotic and sedative (plant sap).eu

Plants For A Future

Beta-amyrin, citric acid, hyoscyamine, lactupicrin, malic acid, mannitol, taraxasterol, tocopherol (plant); beta-sitosterol, squalene (seed); lactucin, oxalic acid (latex exudate).

The plant sap is taken internally in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, neuroses, hyperactivity in children, dry coughs, whooping cough, rheumatic pain etc. and applied externally in the treatment of warts. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[9]. It is used in the treatment of chronic catarrh, coughs, swollen liver, flatulence and ailments of the urinary tract

Excessive use, especially during lactation and pregnancy, should be avoided.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 779, CRC Press July 2002.