Discovering His Creation: Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus Carota)

As I would pass by this plant and glance over from the car while driving through my neighborhood I thought maybe this was Poison Hemlock. I didn't actually think Queen Anne's Lace was growing around here. To my surprise though after taking a walk and a close-up look I discovered this was Queen Anne's Lace. Queen Anne's Lace has hairy stems while Poison Hemlock has a smooth hollow stem with purple blotches on it. Another way to identify Queen Anne's Lace is by the tiny purple-red flower in the center. This is not present in Hemlock or other look-a-likes. The root is carrot like and is edible while young and has a carrot smell. The leaves are feathery like those of the carrot plant and Queen Anne's Lace is also known as Wild Carrot. Be careful handling the leaves you could have a allergic reaction from them which can cause photo-dermatitis. The Name Queen Anne's Lace comes from Anne of Great Britain and her grandmother Anne of Denmark. It was called this because the plant resembles lace and the red/purple flower in the center was to have represented a drop of blood that fell to the lace after Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle. The tiny flower is actually colored by anthocyanin which attracts insects. This we saw first hand having to fan a few away to capture photographs and video. The seeds some say can be used as a contraceptive. I don't know if that information is true or not. Take time and research carefully all information you might find in blogs, videos and the internet always. I'm happy that this discovery didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I'm very glad to have found Queen Anne's Lace ! :) In the 1990's I moved what I thought was Queen Anne's Lace to our backyard only later to find that there were poisonous look-a-likes that I didn't know much about. (None to worry I was not into wild edibles then!) I can't remember now in detail what I found but I do know today how to identify Queen Anne's Lace . In God's creation I am discovering the difference between what is harmful and what is beneficial.