Queen Anne’s Lace

Her body is not so white as
anemone petals nor so smooth – nor
so remote a thing. It is a field
of the wild carrot taking
the field by force; the grass
does not raise above it….

-William Carlos Williams

The fields are white and green, the Queen Anne’s Lace rising above the grass.

Just seeing it makes me break out in a rash.

My love of nature does not extend to the lace of Queen Anne.

If I were to casually brush up against this stuff, I would break out in painfully itchy, gross-looking hives. I looked it up this morning and discovered it’s not just me; many people are sensitive to the leaves and juices released while picking.

Some other little factoids:

• Queen Anne’s Lace is a wild carrot, so the root is edible.
• But, in addition to the hive thing, it can be easily confused with Poison Hemlock. Which, shockingly, is poisonous.

(Please take note:
I am not recommending you try eating Queen Anne’s Lace.)

• The seeds historically have been used as a natural form of birth control.
• The USDA has listed Queen Anne’s Lace as a noxious weed. I can certainly vouch for its invasiveness. It is widespread everywhere except the Arctic.
• As with carnations, if you were to place a few stems of Queen Anne’s Lace in water tinged with food coloring, the flowers would turn pretty colors. So, perhaps a fun science experiment, if your kids are old enough to remember not to eat or touch.

Personally, I could never have it in the house.
I’m still a little shaky from getting close enough to take these pictures.

Bees and spiders, I don’t mind so much.
Queen Anne’s Lace? Ugh. Gives me the willies. Nasty, nasty stuff.