Garden Wednesdays: Queen Anne's Lace

This is one of my absolutely favorite wildflowers. I remember while gardening with my father, he pointed this out to me and I have loved it ever since. They are just so delicate and beautiful.

Here are a few I picked

Queen Anne's Lace is actually a wild carrot and can be eaten in early Spring.  Also has other distinct herbal remedies. It has been said to have been named after Queen Anne of England, an expert lace maker.  When she pricked her finger with a needle, a single drop of blood fell into the lace, thus the dark purple/burgundy floret in the center of the flower. With "lace" looking petals around it.

See the little burgundy dot in the middle?

 

Scientific Name: Daucuscarota
Common Name: Queen Anne’s Lace, wild carrot
Range: A native of Europe and western Asia, it was brought to America by the early colonists, and is now throughout the United States; found in fields, meadows, waste places, roadsides, fence rows, and disturbed habitats
Botanical description: Queen Anne’s Lace has feathery, finely divided leaves and a stem that rise 2-4 feet tall.  The showy white flower is shaped like an umbrella and is made up of many small flowers in a lace-like pattern.  At the center is a purplish-black floret. The root of Queen Anne’s Lace is thick and resembles a carrot.

There is a deadly similar plant called Hemlock.  Easiest way to determine the difference is to break a piece of the leave and rub it between your fingers to see if it smells like carrots.  Also, the stem of Queen Anne's Lace is hairy and not smooth like Hemlock.

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