Queen Anne’s Lace – Daucus carota
Queen Anne’s Lace – Daucus carota – sometimes also called Wild Carrot – is an introduced slender biennial to 5 feet tall, growing from a heavy taproot. The leaves are alternate, compound, 8-10 inches long, generally rough-hairy, much dissected. The flowers are tiny, white, with 5 petals, sometimes 1 central, dark purple flower, borne in umbels 3-5 inches wide, May-September. Introduced from Europe, it is found in dry fields, roadsides, overgrown thickets, weedy meadows, lawns, pastures, abandoned fields, fence rows, junk yards, and waste places and is widespread in most of North America. This species does best in disturbed areas and tends to decline in the absence of disturbance. A story goes that the name Queen Anne’s Lace is in reference to a time when a queen was sewing lace and she pricked her finger. The purple central flower is in the inflorescence is where a drop of royal blood from the queen’s finger dripped onto the lace. Daucus is from the Greek word δαύκον (THAV-kon) meaning carrot parsnip and other similar food plants. Carota is from the Greek Καρότον ka-ROW-ton, also meaning carrot is from the Indo European word Ker, meaning head or horn. The root of Queen Anne’s Lace is sweet and tender (especially the first year). This plant contains high amounts of vitamin A. The cultivated carrot was derived from this species. The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract primarily small bees, wasps, flies, and beetles. Wild Carrot Wasps (Gasteruption spp.) are among these floral visitors. Other insects feed destructively on the foliage, roots, and other parts of Wild Carrot (Daucus carota). These species include root-feeding larvae of Listronotus oregonensis (Parsley Weevil), root-feeding larvae of Ligyrus gibbosus (Carrot Beetle), root-feeding larvae of Psila rosae (Carrot Rust Fly), foliage-eating larvae of the moth Melanchra picta (Zebra Caterpillar), and foliage-eating larvae of the butterfly Papilio polyxenes asterius (Black Swallowtail). Another insect, Melanoplus bivittatus (Two-striped Grasshopper), feeds on the foliage, while Allonemobius allardi (Allard's Ground Cricket) feeds on the umbels of flowers. Wild Carrot or Queen Anne’s Lace is an ubiquitous plant that many people can recognize. It is possible, however, to confuse this introduced species with other white-flowered members of the Carrot family (there are many). Wild Carrot doesn't begin to bloom until mid-summer and usually occurs in mesic to dry areas, rather than wetlands. The presence of a single reddish purple flower in the middle of a compound umbel is a distinctive characteristic, although it is not always present. Horn, Cathcart, Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians. www.eattheweeds.com/daucus-carota-pusillus-edible-wild-ca... www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/wild_carrot.htm 94. Queen Anne’s Lace – Daucus carota
Queen Anne’s Lace – Daucus carota
Queen Anne’s Lace – Daucus carota – sometimes also called Wild Carrot – is an introduced slender biennial to 5 feet tall, growing from a heavy taproot. The leaves are alternate, compound, 8-10 inches long, generally rough-hairy, much dissected. The flowers are tiny, white, with 5 petals, sometimes 1 central, dark purple flower, borne in umbels 3-5 inches wide, May-September. Introduced from Europe, it is found in dry fields, roadsides, overgrown thickets, weedy meadows, lawns, pastures, abandoned fields, fence rows, junk yards, and waste places and is widespread in most of North America. This species does best in disturbed areas and tends to decline in the absence of disturbance. A story goes that the name Queen Anne’s Lace is in reference to a time when a queen was sewing lace and she pricked her finger. The purple central flower is in the inflorescence is where a drop of royal blood from the queen’s finger dripped onto the lace. Daucus is from the Greek word δαύκον (THAV-kon) meaning carrot parsnip and other similar food plants. Carota is from the Greek Καρότον ka-ROW-ton, also meaning carrot is from the Indo European word Ker, meaning head or horn. The root of Queen Anne’s Lace is sweet and tender (especially the first year). This plant contains high amounts of vitamin A. The cultivated carrot was derived from this species. The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract primarily small bees, wasps, flies, and beetles. Wild Carrot Wasps (Gasteruption spp.) are among these floral visitors. Other insects feed destructively on the foliage, roots, and other parts of Wild Carrot (Daucus carota). These species include root-feeding larvae of Listronotus oregonensis (Parsley Weevil), root-feeding larvae of Ligyrus gibbosus (Carrot Beetle), root-feeding larvae of Psila rosae (Carrot Rust Fly), foliage-eating larvae of the moth Melanchra picta (Zebra Caterpillar), and foliage-eating larvae of the butterfly Papilio polyxenes asterius (Black Swallowtail). Another insect, Melanoplus bivittatus (Two-striped Grasshopper), feeds on the foliage, while Allonemobius allardi (Allard's Ground Cricket) feeds on the umbels of flowers. Wild Carrot or Queen Anne’s Lace is an ubiquitous plant that many people can recognize. It is possible, however, to confuse this introduced species with other white-flowered members of the Carrot family (there are many). Wild Carrot doesn't begin to bloom until mid-summer and usually occurs in mesic to dry areas, rather than wetlands. The presence of a single reddish purple flower in the middle of a compound umbel is a distinctive characteristic, although it is not always present. Horn, Cathcart, Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians. www.eattheweeds.com/daucus-carota-pusillus-edible-wild-ca... www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/wild_carrot.htm 94. Queen Anne’s Lace – Daucus carota