Lettuce

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an annual plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce was first cultivated by the ancient Egyptians who turned it from a weed, whose seeds were used to produce oil, into a food plant grown for its succulent leaves, in addition to its oil-rich seeds. Lettuce spread to the Greeks and Romans, the latter of whom gave it the name lactuca, from which the English lettuce is ultimately derived. By 50 AD, multiple types were described, and lettuce appeared often in medieval writings, including several herbals. The 16th through 18th centuries saw the development of many varieties in Europe, and by the mid-18th century cultivars were described that can still be found in gardens. Europe and North America originally dominated the market for lettuce, but by the late 20th century the consumption of lettuce had spread throughout the world.

Generally grown as a hardy annual, lettuce is easily cultivated, although it requires relatively low temperatures to prevent it from flowering quickly. It can be plagued with numerous nutrient deficiencies, as well as insect and mammal pests and fungal and bacterial diseases. L. sativa crosses easily within the species and with some other species within the Lactuca genus; although this trait can be a problem to home gardeners who attempt to save seeds, biologists have used it to broaden the gene pool of cultivated lettuce varieties. World production of lettuce and chicory for calendar year 2010 stood at 23 620 000/23,620,000 tonnes, half of which came from China.

Lettuce (disambiguation)

Lettuce is a leafy vegetable.

Lettuce may also refer to:

See also

Lettuce (band)

Lettuce is a funk band that originated in Boston, Massachusetts in 1992. Its members consist of guitarists Eric Krasno and Adam "Shmeeans" Smirnoff, Neal Evans (keyboards, hammond B-3 organ, piano), Adam Deitch (drums/percussion), Erick "E.D." Coomes (bass), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), and partial-member Rashawn Ross (trumpet). In 2011, trumpeter Eric "Benny" Bloom replaced Rashawn Ross in the band. They are known for their energetic live shows.

History

Lettuce began in the summer of 1992, when all of its members attended a music program at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA as teenagers. Brought together by the influence of various funk bands including Herbie Hancock, Earth, Wind and Fire, and Tower of Power, the band jammed throughout that summer before going their separate ways.

In the fall of 1994, the band reconvened as undergrads at Berklee and attempted to play at various Boston jazz clubs, walking in and asking the club owners and other musicians if they would "let us play", giving birth to the name Lettuce.