head lettuce

Head lettuce refers to cultivated lettuces (Lactuca sativa capitata) where the leaves form a compact head, similar to cabbage. Lettuce is an annual leaf vegetable in the aster family, commonly used as a base for salads and is a good source of vitamins K and A.12

There are four main botanical varieties of lettuce: celtuce, head lettuce, leaf lettuce, and cos or romaine lettuce. Head lettuce is further divided into butterhead types (like Bibb) with soft heads and crisphead types (like iceberg) with hard heads. Lettuce is harvested before it flowers to prevent a bitter taste and reduced leaf size.2