Common Name: Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace).

Scientific Name: Daucus Carota.

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What to look for?  Tall, weedy wildflower with flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers The Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) is a tall, weedy wildflower consists of a central stem. The leaves are oblong and green. The upper stems terminate in solitary umbels of flowers on long, slender, hairy stalks. The umbels of flowers are wide and flat-topped. Each umbel consists of more than fifty umbellets, and each umbellet has more than fifty tiny white flowers. The tips of the petals are incurved. The root system consists of brownish white taproot. This plant reproduces by reseeding itself.

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Where can they be found at Carillon Stonegate Pond? Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) May be found scattered along our pathways and Reckinger Road turn-around as well as along the disturbed prairie areas around the forest preserve property.

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How big are they? Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) may grow from three (3) to nearly five (5) feet tall. The oblong leaves are approximately five (5) inches long and two (2) inches across. Each umbrella of flowers is about five (5) inches across.

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Where do they grow and thrive? The non-native Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) occurs throughout Illinois and across most of the U.S. and into Canada. It is native to Europe and introduced to the U.S. over two centuries ago. Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) primarily occupies disturbed sites, including overgrown thickets, degraded prairies, weedy meadows, areas along railroads, grassy roadsides, pastures, abandoned fields, and other waste areas.

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When do they bloom? The blooming period of the Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) usually occurs from mid-summer to early autumn.

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Do birds, insects or other wildlife associate with this plant? The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract primarily small bees, wasps, flies, and beetles. Our White-tailed Deer may eat the upper half of flowering plants during the summer. And the Cottontail Rabbit occasionally eats the lower leaves. The foliage of Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) serves as nesting material by the European Starling.

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Interesting Facts About the Wild Carrot:

• According to many authorities, Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) is the source of the cultivated carrot.

• There are numerous legends about how this plant became associated with and was named after Queen Anne, wife of King James I of England.

• Other names include bee's nest, bird's nest, devil's plague (by farmers!), lace flower, Queen Anne's lace, and rantipole (means rude and reckless).

• Carrots were grown in Asia in the 10th century and spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.

• The genus name Daucus is the Latin name for carrot; the species carota is a variant of the Greek karŏtŏn, again, referring to the carrot.

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For more information on the Wild Carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) and sources of information used in this blog (these are several of the sources that I am using to learn as I blog), please visit Illinois Wildflowers, Friends of the Wildflower Garden, The Ohio State University Weed Guide and Minnesota Wildflowers.

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The Carillon at Stonegate community is very fortunate to have a variety of wetland, forest and prairie environments conducive to a variety of birds and other wildlife, insects and plants. Our community and the Kane County Forest Preserve do an exceptional job in maintaining this natural environment – both for the benefit of the birds and wildlife and for our residents to enjoy.

 

Take a hike and see what you can find – and identify!