Wildflower series ~ Lactuca capensis
Lactuca capensis is one of the wild lettuce family and another flower that is very difficult to photograph because it only opens around midday when the sun is so harsh, you have to make a shadow with your body and the resulting image is so dark, you have to edit it half to death to get a useable picture. It's also tiny and on a long stem that sways constantly, making it difficult to focus the macro. Anyway, it was worth the hassle, I think.
The Wild Lettuce family all have a white sap which is used medicinally and some of them are mildly narcotic, similar to opium. Testing this species on mice showed that it is capable of reversing memory loss associated with dementia. Whether this works in humans is anybody's guess but I hope that there is ongoing research.
Further reading:
Testing on mice
Medicinal uses of Wild Lettuce
An interesting plant with a very useful property to improve memory. Memory loss is currently a widespread phenomenon. Therefore, it is necessary to use the beneficial properties of this plant. I hope that scientists will be able to create a medicine necessary for people out of it.
Me too
Looks like the Chicory we have here?
Chicory has a more intense blue color with a hint of light violet.
And the number of petals on a flower is much larger.
Oh yea.. way more petals!
They are so similar though :) Thanks.
The petals are similar, yes, but these flowers are tiny. Chicory belongs to the dandelion family, which are similar to the wild lettuce, I don't know how close they are
The Chicory flower is about the size of a dandelion one.
I would be so fooled. Maybe we have those too and I always thought it is chicory.
I love your wild flower collections, they are one of my favourite flowers is plants that are native and pop up
Thank you! I really like the under-appreciated native plants too
Love this series and the little wildflowers you share. I swear as I get older, I feel the onset of dementia setting in. Maybe I need more Wild Lettuce flowers in my life...
Thanks! You could try Ginko biloba
You are so lucky to be able to find wild flowers! It’s a shame that our simple wild flowers disappeared from the fields because of systematic cultivation of economic crops!
We used to see changing colours of wild flowers but now there is no more.
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That's a shame. I do feel very lucky to live next to a small area where some of the wild plants remain
It was worth the hassle, these photos are great. So interesting about their medicinal uses as well.
I was quite surprised to read that about them, I actually thought that they might be one of the invasive weeds that are so common around here
Amazing macro and very good quality 👌 So beautiful ❤
Beautiful capture and nice depth of field. This wonderful photograph inspired me
Thank you!
Despite the difficulties for photographing, your photos turned out to be successful.
Thank you!
So delicate and pretty.
Definitely worth a closer look