Lovers of good lettuce often wonder about the classification of this vegetable when it comes time to plan their next vegetable garden, after all, it's not just their shape that differs. In particular, the sowing periodTheir nutrient intake and their resistance to rising are important points to consider.
Before demystifying the classification of lettuce and their cultivation, we offer you a little trip back in time. Here's a little history on cultivated lettuce and its uses over the ages.
For the little story …
The origins of cultivated lettuce (lactuca sativa) are uncertain. However, the most likely relative would be a lettuce native to Europe, Asia and Africa, scariole lettuce (lactuca scariola). Its culture dates back several millennia. Traces of it have been found in Egyptian tombs dating from 4500 BC. AD
The ancient Egyptians were the first to cultivate lettuce for the oil that was extracted from its seeds. A lettuce similar to scariole lettuce, vireuse lettuce (lactuca virosa), was probably found on the menu of the inhabitants of ancient Rome and Greece, despite its very bitter taste, except in very young leaves.
Served cooked or raw, lettuce had the reputation of being sleepy, and for good reason! It is attributed with hypnotic and narcotic properties similar – but less powerful – to those of opium. For many centuries, the whitish milk contained in the stem of scariole lettuce was used to prepare a potion to put patients undergoing surgery to sleep. Among the disciples of Pythagoras, lettuce held a place of honor, because it was said to calm sexual desire; chastity was not imposed on followers of the Pythagorean Life, but moderation in frequency was recommended.
Parris Island Cos Lettuce – Organic 
Redina leaf lettuce – Organic 
Mescher Lettuce – Organic
The Romans took this taste for lettuce from the Greeks and quickly generalized its cultivation throughout the Empire. Who says “culture” also says “selections and crossings” to increase yield. This is how the first lettuce with large edible leaves and no stem came into being: romaine lettuce.
Among the names of cultivated lettuce from antiquity, we find; white lettuce, broadleaf lettuce, roundleaf lettuce and Laconia lettuce. Then, in the 1st century CE, Pliny described nine varieties of lettuce. China began growing lettuce in the XNUMXth century. Instead of eating it raw, the Chinese use the lettuce stem as a frying vegetable. This explains the notable differences in the evolution of Asian and European lettuces. From the XNUMXth century, lettuce lost much of its narcotic effect, but gained color with pale green, dark green, red or spotted varieties.
Is lettuce salad served before or after the meal?
✤ Among the Greeks, it was sometimes served at the start of a meal to excite the appetite, but more often at the end of a meal to promote digestion.
✤ Among the Romans, it was consumed at all meals as an aperitif or after a series of hearty dishes to calm the stomach. It is said that the Roman emperor Domitian (51-96) took great pleasure in serving lettuce at the start of the meal to torture his guests. They then had to fight against sleep throughout the meal.
The classification
More than 2160 known varieties of lettuce exist and are divided into four groups.
head lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. capitata
Head lettuces are divided into two distinct groups: butter lettuces and batavia lettuces (subdivided according to their American or European origin). Butter lettuces stand out with smooth leaves of delicate, creamy flavor, while batavias have a fresh taste and crunchy texture.
The characteristics that distinguish head lettuces are as follows:
✤ They form a round apple, slightly flattened or elongated.
✤ Their color varies from blond to dark green, but some varieties have leaves bordered in red or completely red.
✤ The entire leaves, rather rounded, are tender, rarely blistered and almost always smooth (butter) or generally have a very jagged and wavy border, as well as webbed veins and a blistered surface (batavias).
Boston lettuce is a very representative example of butter lettuce. It is well known here since we cultivate it in greenhouses 12 months a year using hydroponic techniques.
The best-known American batavia lettuce is undoubtedly Iceberg. Originally produced in California, its name comes from the ice with which it was covered so that it would withstand the long train journey to markets on the East Coast.
Romaine lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. longifolia
The first romaine lettuces did not produce hearts, but through selection, varieties with firm hearts emerged.
✤ The erect leaves have a prominent central rib which gives them rigidity and crunch.
✤ They form elongated apples which can become very large.
✤ These lettuces are also called chicory and can be eaten both cooked and raw.
Romaine lettuce only made its debut in Quebec vegetable gardens in the mid-1930s. The variety cultivated then was the Blonde market gardener which, thanks to its good resistance to heat, can be grown both in spring and summer.
Leaf lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. crispa
They are also called leaf lettuces or cutting lettuces. Tender leaves cut above the crown grow back after each harvest. Up to three harvests can be made per season.
✤ The leaves are more or less cut and curled, green, red or a mixture of the two.
✤ They form a rosette, which makes harvesting the leaves very easy.
The Grand Rapids and Simpson varieties have been cultivated by Quebec market gardeners for a long time. These are spring lettuces because their leaves harden quickly in the heat.
Stem lettuce
Lactuca sativa var. angustana
Also called asparagus lettuce, this variety is especially popular in Asia.
✤ They do not form an apple.
✤ The thick, branched and erect stem is eaten cooked and only the very young leaves are good to eat.
The stems are harvested when they measure between 20 and 25cm long. They are cooked in water and served like asparagus, but they must first be removed from their woody covering.
Butter lettuce
Butter lettuce is a relatively small head lettuce, often dark green and with thick leaves with a large central vein. It is grown almost exclusively in the south of France because of its great resistance to heat. Tête de Nîmes (also called Cadière or golden head lettuce from Nîmes) is one of the four main varieties of fatty lettuce.
Did you know that…
✤ The Hebrew Passover meal always included wild lettuce so that its bitterness would remind the guests of the torments of exile in Egypt.
✤ In the ancient world, the Egyptians associated lettuce with the god Min and fertility, lending it aphrodisiac properties, while the Greeks believed it promoted impotence.
✤ Among the range of lettuces that we know today, head lettuce only appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries.
✤ The cultivation of lettuce grew throughout the 19th century and it was found in all market gardening belts.
✤ In Canada, the honor of being the first to sow lettuce would go to Jacques Cartier.
