YardSmart

Queen Anne's Lace: Look, but don't Eat

For centuries a plant known Queen Anne's lace was the traditional morning after pill for English and American housewives. Recent Chinese research suggests that terpinoids in the seed somehow interfere with egg implantation in animals. But do not go out and test this ancient wisdom that dates back to Hippocrates; Queen Anne's lace can be a dead ringer for hemlock.

Both plants produce nearly identical flowers on similar-sized plants that tend to grow in the same locations. The foliage distinctions are too subtle for the untrained eye and are easily confused. Let Socrates' untimely death to hemlock poisoning deter experimentation, proof enough a mix-up could indeed be fatal.

Also known as wild carrot, Queen Anne's lace is the progenitor to our modern kitchen garden carrot. "Daucus carota" has naturalized in many parts of North America after introduction by early English settlers. It is a story repeated with many Old World species brought to America. Often the seed was introduced by animals or through their imported feed. Wild carrot could be unintentionally mixed into agricultural seed and introduced to the fields that way.

What we do know for sure is pioneer housewives loved the flowers. On both continents it remains a most feminine element in the country or cottage garden.

This flower often abbreviated to QAL is a true biennial. The first year it will grow from seed and develop a thick, deep tap root just like a carrot. But unlike carrots harvested at the end of their first year, QAL root remains dormant in the ground over winter to re-sprout the second year into sizeable plants. These share their requisite tea cup saucer sized umbels of small white flowers.

Some say the flowers are linked to its name, and that Queen Anne herself was a skilled lace maker. She challenged her court to create lace more detailed than the wild carrot flower, and, of course, none could best the queen. At the center of these white flowers is a dark purple spot, said to represent a drop of blood from Queen Anne's finger pricked by a needle while creating her flowery lace.

Before you get all excited about growing this plant, be aware that QAL is listed as a noxious weed in some states. It is so easily naturalized that in some cases it can overwhelm less vigorous native wildflowers. More importantly, it is so close to cultivated carrots genetically that it too easily hybridizes and may ruin the purity of a seed crop.

Washington state has gone so far as to quarantine the plants to prevent any further escapes into its wildlands and agricultural regions. It is illegal to transport, buy, sell or distribute seed there. The penalty is a $5,000 fine.

But in most other states QAL is, at worst, listed as invasive. Still, think twice about introducing plants or seed to your garden if you live out in the countryside or forest. Urban and suburban gardens you can buy seed for QAL online at Clyde Robin Seed Company, http://clyderobin.com.

To get that great country character with QAL, plant it with other robust flowers of similar stature. Short dainty companions might be easily overwhelmed and shaded out by these upstanding plants. Old-fashioned country flowers make the most charming summer bouquets for weddings and garden parties. For cool blues plant it with bachelor's buttons and tall annual larkspur. Pair with bright yellow coreopsis, too.

_ For more information on QAL and its interesting medicinal history, visit the World Carrot Museum at www.carrotmuseum.co.uk.

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