Lettuce

Lettuce is an annual plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae, grown mainly as a leaf vegetable. Its leaves are eaten raw in green salads and used in sandwiches, wraps and soups, and can also be grilled. The stem and seeds are used more rarely, and the celtuce variety is grown specifically for its edible stem. Beyond its culinary role, lettuce carries religious and medicinal significance built up over centuries of cultivation. Once concentrated in Europe and North America, lettuce production spread worldwide over the twentieth century, and by 2023 world production reached about 28 million tonnes, with China responsible for over half of it.