Wild lettuce seeds

I've been seeing a lot of dandelion-like seed heads in recent days, and many of the plants that use an airborne strategy to send their "offspring" on journeys to far-flung places are in launch mode. I believe these are members of the Wild Lettuce group, genus Lactuca, but, sadly, I didn't get samples of the leaves or flowers, so I can't be sure. The lettuces are certainly common enough around here, and if you look at Lactuca foliage, it's easy to see how we got our salad varieties, which, if you let them bolt, will produce seed heads just like those of their ancestors. I grow some of the heirloom varieties in my garden, but they're pretty refined in comparison to their relatives, which have tougher, more ragged leaves and can be more than six feet tall. I've never sampled the wildlings for edibility, but my guess is that by now they'd be pretty bitter. Perhaps that comes with the territory of launching those children and getting ready to call it a lifetime.