Lactuca tatarica (L.) C.A. Meyer, Enum., Fl. Cauc. 56. 1831. Sonchus lataricus L., Mant. 572. 1772. Lactuca clarkei Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 406. 1881. L. tatarica var. tibetica Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 3: 406. 1881.

Herbs, annual or biennial; stems 15 - 35 cm, high, erect, glabrous, leafy. Leaves sharply spinous-toothed, pungent, at apex, 5 - 14 x 1 - 2.5 cm, sessile, amplexicaul. Heads narrow or broadly panicled, 1.2 - 1.9 x 0.4 - 0.7 cm, many flowered; peduncle 0.6 - 1.2 cm long, erect. Outer Involucral bracts much smaller than inner, ovate or oblong-obvate, 4 - 6 x 2 - 3 mm; inner linear-oblong, 11 - 14 x 2 - 3 mm, glabrous. Ligules pale blue. Anthers bluish. Achenes pale brown or dark brown, narrowly oblong, 5 - 6 mm long, including the beak, glabrous, 4 - 6 ribbed. Pappus milky white, 9 - 12 mm, longer than achenes, simple.

Fl. & Fr. July - Sept.

Distrib. India: W. Himalayas, on exposed moist slopes in alpine meadows, 2500- 5000 m. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh.

Tibet, Pakistan, Afghanistan, C. Asia, Mongolia, Iran and Europe.

Notes. Lactuca clarkei, Lactuca tatarica var. tiberica have been merged under Lactuca tatarica as all are identical.