Lactuca sativa Seeds | Paris Island Cos Lettuce
LATIN NAME: Lactuca sativa
COMMON NAME: Cos Lettuce
Plant Profile
Cos Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is the romaine type of cultivated lettuce, an annual of the daisy family (Asteraceae) derived from wild lettuce of the Mediterranean and western Asia. It forms tall, upright heads of long, crisp, dark-green leaves with a pronounced midrib, more heat-tolerant and slower to bolt than loose-leaf types. It is the classic Caesar-salad lettuce and one of the oldest cultivated forms of the species.
Science & Biotechnology
Like other members of the daisy family, Lactuca sativa draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. Crisp, upright heads of cos lettuce hold a long place in research on leafy salad crops of daisy family, and sativa species appears in studies of head formation and leaf nutrition. With present-day seed handling, raising this species well within the reach of any careful grower.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Cos Lettuce for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. In kitchen garden, cos lettuce nests crisp hearts through cool season. Leaves serve salads and sandwiches for generations, blanched hearts are classic of table, and plant grows quickly in cool season. It does well in rich, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Once settled, it thrives on neglect more than on fussing.
Lettuce began as wild lettuce, whose bitter latex, lactucarium, was the lettuce opium of Victorian calming syrups; garden lettuce is a folate-rich staple green, and stem lettuce, celtuce, is a crunchy Asian delicacy.
Growing from Seed
Cos Lettuce is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Use a fine, free-draining seed compost, scatter the seed evenly, cover it lightly and hold it just moist in good light. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Once established, Cos Lettuce largely looks after itself. Within its genus it stands out for garden reliability. Even moisture while the seed is chitting is the main thing; afterwards it largely looks after itself.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Cos Lettuce often pair it with these related subjects: