Wildflower named Queen Anne's Lace #1
by J McCombie
Title
Wildflower named Queen Anne's Lace #1
Artist
J McCombie
Medium
Photograph - Untouched
Description
Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, southwest Asia and naturalized to North America and Australia. Domesticated carrots are cultivars of a subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.
The wild carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows between 30 and 90 centimetres (1 and 3 ft) tall, roughly hairy, with a stiff solid stem. Feathery leaves resemble those of the domestic carrot. The bases of leafstalks are broad and flat. Queen Annes lace leaves also closely resemble the leaves of the poison hemlock, fools parsley and water hemlocks, all poisonous cousins of Queen Annes lace. The leaves are tri-pinnate, finely divided and lacy, overall triangular in shape.
The flowers are small and dull white, clustered in flat, dense umbels that resemble lace. These flowers bloom from late spring until mid-fall. Each flower cluster is made up of numerous tiny white flowers. The flower cluster start out curled up and opens to allow pollination. The cluster then rolls itself shut again, like a reverse umbrella when it goes to seed at the end of the season. They may be pink in bud and there may be a reddish flower in the centre of the umbel. The lower bracts are three-forked or pinnate, a fact which distinguishes the plant from other white-flowered umbellifers. As the seeds develop, the umbel curls up at the edges, becomes more congested, and develops a concave surface. The fruits are oval and flattened, with short styles and hooked spines. The dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds. In addition the root smells like carrots! The function of the tiny red flower, coloured by anthocyanin, is to attract insects.
Botanists have debated the mystery of the coloured floret in Daucas carota for at least the last 150 years. Back then some of the most learned botanists believed that the floret was a genetic oddity that provided no service to the plant. Many modern botanists disagree. Some suspect that the coloured floret tricks flying insects into thinking that a bug is already sitting on the flower. Perhaps this attracts predatory wasps to land hoping to snatch a quick meal. Perhaps the presence of one insect is a signal to others that there is something on this flower worth having. If so, then the floret might entice flying insects to land and thereby help pollinate the plant. The research thats been done so far on this question has produced contradictory results. Some naturalists argue that they have found evidence that favours the idea that the dark floret is an insect mimic. Others have presented data that suggests that the floret does nothing to help the plant increase the number of viable seeds it produces, and therefore does nothing to help it propagate its species. By solving the great debate of its function, new knowledge about the central dark spot and its possible role as an insect attractant could lead to future developments in cultivation as well as in methods for improving agricultural processes in cultivated carrots.
This beneficial weed can be used as a companion plant to crops. Like most members of the umbellifer family, it attracts wasps to its small flowers in its native land; however, where it has been introduced, it attracts only very few of such wasps. This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it. Queen Annes lace is found in fields, meadows, waste areas, roadsides and disturbed habitats. They are very hardy and thrive in a dry environment. However, the USDA has listed it as a noxious weed, and it is considered a serious pest in pastures. It persists in the soil seed bank for two to five years.
Belonging to the carrot family, early Europeans cultivated Queen Annes lace, and the Romans ate it as a vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a treat. Interestingly, Queen Annes lace is high in sugar (second only to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods. Using first year Queen Annes lace plants are recommended. Roots are long, pale, woody, and are finger-thin and are used in soups, stews and in making tea. First year leaves can be chopped and tossed into a salad. Flower clusters can be french-fried or fresh flowers can be tossed into a salad. The aromatic seed is used as a flavoring in stews and soups.
Both Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and her great grandmother Anne of Denmark are taken to be the Queen Anne for which the plant is named. There are several anecdotes as to why the Carrot Flower is named the Queen Annes Lace. 1. Queen Anne's Lace: so called because one tiny purplish floret in the centre is the queen. The white florets make up her lace collar. 2. One fable associated with the name of this plant describes the occasion of Queen Anne of England (1655-1714) pricking her finger while making lace, staining the lace with blood. If you look closely, you'll notice that each large "flower" has many small white florets with a reddish/purple dot in the middle. 3. English botanist Geoffrey Grigson suggests that the name of the plant comes not from a Queen of England but from Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary and the patron saint of lacemakers. 4. The origin of the name is reputed to be based upon an English legend. Supposedly, when the future Queen Anne arrived from Denmark to became the queen of King James I of England, wild carrot was still a novelty in the royal gardens. The legend states that Queen Anne challenged the ladies in waiting to a contest to see who could produce a pattern of lace as fine and lovely as the flower of the wild carrot. The ladies knew that no one could rival the queen's handiwork so it became a triumph for Anne. 5. Queen Anne's Lace is also known as Mother Die, because if you brought it into your house, according to superstition, your mother would die. 6. The white clusters apparently reminded the British of Queen Anne's lace headdress.
Queen Annes Lace is used in rituals and spells for increased fertility in women and for men to increase potency and sexual desire! Queen Annes Lace is the official Howard County's flower, designated as such on September 4th, 1984. An Old English superstition is that the small purple/red flower in the centre of the Wild Carrot was of benefit in curing epilepsy.
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September 29th, 2015
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