Common lettuce, Lactuca sativa, has its origins in the Middle East. Egyptian wall murals of Min, the god of fertility, depict lettuce in cultivation in about 2700 B.C. The plant — similar to modern romaine, with a thick stem and milky sap — had sexual connotations. Min consumed lettuce as a sacred food for sexual stamina, and ordinary Egyptians used the oil of the wild seeds for medicine, cooking, and mummification.

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The Greeks learned how to grow lettuce from the Egyptians. They used it medicinally as a sedative and served it as a salad at the beginning of meals to help with digestion. They also continued to cultivate it for tastier leaves. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite’s lover Adonis was killed in a bed of lettuce

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Lettuce regained its association with sexual potency during its time with the Romans, who, like the Egyptians, believed it could increase stamina. They took advantage of its medicinal qualities, serving a salad before meals to stimulate digestion, and again after dinner as a sleep aid.