Lactuca watsoniana

{{Short description|Species of plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image=

|image_caption=

|status=EN

|status_system=IUCN3.1

|status_ref={{cite iucn |author=Schaefer, H. |date=2011 |title=Lactuca watsoniana |volume=2011 |page=e.T161995A5525315 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T161995A5525315.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}

|genus=Lactuca

|species=watsoniana

|authority=Trel.Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 1897: 127 (1897)

}}

Lactuca watsoniana, locally known as alfacinha, is a species of wild lettuce endemic to the Azores.{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:228355-1 |title=Lactuca watsoniana Trel. |author= |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=13 September 2020 }} An endangered species, there are fewer than 2000 individuals remaining in the wild.{{cite journal |doi=10.15258/sst.2015.43.2.05 |title=Interactions between temperature, light and chemical promoters trigger seed germination of the rare Azorean lettuce, Lactuca watsoniana (Asteraceae) |year=2015 |last1=Dias |first1=E.F. |last2=Moura |first2=M. |last3=Schaefer |first3=H. |last4=Silva |first4=L. |journal=Seed Science and Technology |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=133–144 }} DNA evidence shows that it is closely related to the North American species of Lactuca, while the Canary Islands endemic Lactuca palmensis is more closely related to African and European Lactuca lineage.{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s10528-018-9847-8 |title=Phylogeography of the Macaronesian Lettuce Species Lactuca watsoniana and L. palmensis (Asteraceae) |year=2018 |last1=Dias |first1=Elisabete F. |last2=Kilian |first2=Norbert |last3=Silva |first3=Luís |last4=Schaefer |first4=Hanno |last5=Carine |first5=Mark |last6=Rudall |first6=Paula J. |last7=Santos-Guerra |first7=Arnoldo |last8=Moura |first8=Mónica |journal=Biochemical Genetics |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=315–340 |pmid=29478137 |s2cid=3524756 }}