Here is a photo of Malawi lettuce. Note that young leaves are very upright. Older leaves tend droop as they die. The very first leaves come off lower on the stem (these will die by harvest time), while all the younger leaves come out from a short crown. The stem with the older leaves is relatively long, and holds the crown of younger leaves 1-2 inches above the soil. This may confer a "field resistance" against splashing with Sclerotia fungus. This type of growth habit means that the head is almost self trimming - you just make a cut above the dying leaves. (Other types of lettuce are trimmed after harvesting the head, perhaps at the supermarket). The head is very open; this is good for home growers or for salad bags, but may make shipment of whole heads difficult. Since heads are very open, it may be wise to plant at high density.

For comparison, two leaves from Oscarde red oakleaf lettuce are on the side. One leaf is from a mature head; where the leaf is shaded, it is rather green. Another Oscarde leaf is from a secondary shoot after the primary head was cut. Leaves from young primary heads are darker red than seen here.

A 0.25 USA$ coin serves as a size reference

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