A report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station of 1885 describes 87 varieties with 585 names of synonyms. Garden Lettuce Types Horticulturally, lettuce is categorized by most authorities into four groups based on growth habit. Crisphead or head lettuce is by far the most widely consumed form in the United States, accounting for 95 percent of all lettuce produced and sold commercially here. The broad oval leaves are soft and pliable and are usually greener and some consider more tasty than crisphead types. Butterhead cultivars are widely planted by Europeans.
Most gardeners are familiar with looseleaf lettuce, regarded by many as the easiest to grow.
Here the leaves grow up and out forming a loose rosette. This form is sometimes referred to simply as leaf lettuce or as curled lettuce. The looseleaf types considerably broaden the gardener's palette because they supply a wealth of delicious leaves in different colours, textures and leaf shapes. The inner leaves of cos become blanched naturally in the development of the head and are used for their crispiness and especially piquant flavour where they are a major ingredient in Caesar salad. If one is planting a vegetable garden for the first time, lettuce would be a good beginning crop.