Grows in moist prairies, streambanks, roadsides and open woodlands flowering from June through August. Rare at Neale Woods where it has been seen in Jonas Prairie or along its edges.  It is likely, although not documented recently, at Fontenelle Forest.

Blue Lettuce is shorter (1-3 feet tall), has smaller, less deeply divided or undivided upper leaves, and blue flowers twice as large as Florida Lettuce (Lactuca floridana), a similar but more robust (6-8 feet tall) local species. Wild Lettuce (Lactuca canadensis) and Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola) have yellow flowers.  Flowers are very similar to Chicory (Cichorium intybus), a species that is fairly common along area roadsides, but rare in FF and not seen to date at NW.  Chicory is generally taller and has larger flowers on less widely branched stems. Also, Blue Lettuce seeds have attached fluffy, white hairs. Chicory seeds do not.

Not everyone agrees on the proper scientific name for this plant. It has usually been placed in the genus Lactuca along with other “lettuce” species. Currently, Mulgedium appears to be the preferred taxonomic name. There has also been debate about the species name, some favoring Mulgedium oblongifolium and others M. pulchellum.