Lettuce Lactuca sativa A large family of plants that include chicory, endive and the thistle, and which probably grew wild all over temperate Europe and East Asia before being brought under cultivation., probably for the soporific medicinal properties of the latex produced by the wild varieties, and which was used in cough medicines until quite recent times. The modern, cultivated varieties also contain the ‘lettuce opium’, as it is also known, but to a lesser extent. The Ancient Egyptians used lettuce as an offering to their fertility god, Min, probably because the latex or ‘milk’ was also believed to be an aphrodisiac, and tomb drawings depicting lettuce have been discovered which date back to around 4,500BC. The Assyrians also believed in its powers of sexual stimulation and it is listed as having been grown in the famed gardens of King Merodach-Baladan of Babylon. Hippocrates, Aristotle and Theophrastus all mention lettuce and Pliny refers to the plant, saying that the Greeks called it ‘poppy lettuce’ because of the soporific quality of the milk. The Romans used lettuce, which is where it got its name: lac, milk, for the latex becoming lactuca, lettuce. It was a popular vegetable, initially used at the end of a meal to help digestion and induce sleep. Towards the end of the classical period, as more varieties with less soporific qualities were developed, the lettuce switched ends and began being used as a starter instead. Apicius, the author of the only surviving recipe book from the period, used lettuce in several recipes, and recommended endive as a winter replacement. Chaucer mentions lettuce, used in a culinary role, in his Canterbury Tales in the 14th century, and it was one of the seed crops taken with the early settlers to the New World. By the time of Andrew Boorde, the traveller, doctor and unfrocked bishop whose 16th century book, A Dyetary of Helthe, listed medical and dietary advice, the lettuce had lost its reputation as a love booster. His opinion was that “Lettyse doth extynct veneryous actes”. Modern herbalists tend to emphasise the calming effects of lettuce, recommending a bowl of darker leaves for stress, restlessness and insomnia. Nutritionally, the lettuce is a useful source of folates, or folic acid, which is important for women in early pregnancy and those planning a pregnancy, as it helps to prevent birth defects. The darker leafed lettuces, such as cos, are also a good source of beta-carotene, the vegetable form of vitamin A, which is a powerful antioxidant and may help to prevent heart disease and some forms of cancer. 100g of lettuce gives 14 kcalories of energy, carbohydrate, fibre, calcium, iron, sodium, vitamin A, thiamin (vitamin B1) and a very small amount of vitamin C.