This variety of an oakleaf lettuce stands out for its duckbill-like elongated leaf tips. Its basic color is a delicate green, but some cultivars also show a reddish tinge to the foliage. Oakleaf lettuce has a slightly nutty flavor. It is normally eaten raw, usually prepared on a dressing or vinaigrette and mixed with herbs or other salads and vegetables. However, Chinese and French cuisines are also familiar with salad soup served hot or cold.

Oakleaf lettuces belong to the looseleaf or bunching lettuces (L. sativa var. crispa), which in turn belong to the garden lettuce (L. sativa). This is a cultivated form of the prickly lettuce (L. serriola). Bunching lettuces do not form a head, but rather loose leaf rosettes. Outer leaves can be picked off one by one, and the plant is always reproducing new leaves from the center. As soon as the lettuce “shoots”, which means it begins to form its flowers, bitter substances are formed in the leaves.

• Edible Leaves
• Culinary Group Brassica and leaf vegetables
• Taste nutty
• Trivial Names (variety) Schnabelsalat, Harlekinsalat
• Trivial Names (looseleaf lettuce) Pflücksalat, Schnittsalat, looseleaf lettuce, cutting lettuce, bunching lettuce, laitues à couper
• Size (diameter) 35 cm
• Taxonomy Asteraceae (composite family) Lactuca sativa var. crispa
• Origin Mediterraneum (Map)
• Donated by Astrid Röpke 2020