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.
