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Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)

Daucus carota
seeds in fall

Queen Anne's lace is a common summer sight in the Midwest. The plant favors disturbed-ground locations like roadsides, waste places, empty lots, and fallow fields, and can be recognized by its lacy foliage and large white flowers. Poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, is similar but easily separated with close inspection (see the illustration and discussion below). Queen Anne's lace is a European plant that has established itself in North America. It is reportedly the plant that was the source material for the cultivated carrot. While the long, whitish taproot of Queen Anne's lace is not orange and thick like store-bought carrots, it does smell like carrots. We haven't tried eating the root—and due to the potential confusion with poison hemlock, we don't recommend you do so, either. And anyway, a much more interesting way to enjoy Queen Anne's lace, especially with children, is to search the flowerhead for the "purple heart"; see the illustration below.

Range of Daucus carota

midwestern range


Daucus carota
leaves are lacy and compound, attached to the stem with sheaths rather than petioles

 

Daucus carota
ditches and roadsides are common locations for Queen Anne's lace

Daucus carota
flowerheads are 2–6 inches across


Daucus carota
many small, 5-petaled flowers comprise the flowerhead; usually there is one flower in the middle with purple petals—the "purple heart," which is not always as conspicuous as this one


Daucus carota
young flowerhead

 

Daucus carota
developing flowerhead

Daucus carota
mature flowerhead


Daucus carota
burr-like seedpods develop after the flowers disappear; there are two seeds in each pod


Daucus carota
rare flowerheads are completely purplish pink

 

Daucus carota
foliage is often hairy, but can also be nearly bald


Daucus carota
Queen Anne's lace in the foreground, with white flowerheads; poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) behind it with post-mature, yellowish flowerheads. Poison hemlock appears in spring and early summer, while Queen Anne's lace appears in summer and fall—but the two fruiting periods can overlap. Note the different structure of the flowerheads, and the difference in the width of the central flower stems.



References: GN Jones 1971, Wilkinson & Jaques 1972, RL Jones 2005, Voss & Reznicek 2012, Kurz 2014, Mohlenbrock 2014, Hilty 2020, USDA 2020.



Kuo, Michael & Melissa Kuo (January, 2020). Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace). Retrieved from the midwestnaturalist.com website: www.midwestnaturalist.com/daucus_carota.html

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