Historical Lore: It is thought that the carrots escaped from the gardens of the early European settlers in North America have thrived in the wild to become what we know as Queen Anne's Lace, just as had happened in Europe. Indeed the roots can be eaten just like a small pale carrot if harvested while still young and tender. Pull up a plant anywhere (likely no one will mind) and smell the root. You will find it smells just like a carrot.

Medical Uses: The juice of the root has long been used as a diuretic, and to expel intestinal parasites. The vitamins it contains are useful for good night vision among other things. The seeds are eaten to relieve flatulence. Warning: Do not confuse this plant with Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) or Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata) both of which are highly poisonous. Neither of these poisonous plants has the red flower in the center. The vitamin A that is so helpful in vision is harmful in large amounts.

See the links below this image for other images. (1) © Daniel Reed   E-mail      Image use policy Queen Anne's Lace Flower Partly Open With Dew Canon Digital Rebel XT / 350D Camera, Canon EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens 1/25Sec. f/8.0 ISO 100 Wilson County, Tennessee OTHER IMAGES These images open in a new window. You may need to resize the window to view the entire image. Queen Anne's Lace  © Daniel Reed Ads on this page help pay for this site but if you see one that seems inappropriate here such as one that is counter to the pro environmental theme please let me know which Ad and I will block it. Report a Bad Ad

One of the best general guides to wildflowers of the North Eastern and North Central United States. Newcomb's key is an excellent, simple method for identifying plants. Newcomb has drawings for almost every plant mentioned that are excellent aids to identifying the species. Though only the more common plants are covered this is often the first book I pick up when trying to identify a wildflower.

Wildflo wers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians

This is perhaps the best of many field guides covering this region. Featuring 446 excellent color photographs (located with the text) and mentioning as similar to those illustrated are another 800 or so species for a total coverage of over 1,200 species. The start of each family section includes line drawings of some of the species showing important features. The text includes the usual description, bloom season, range, habitat and additionally includes information such as medical uses and lore and how the species was named. This is the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society.