Queen Anne's Lace

As the summer progresses more and more of our weedy friends have been sprouting up and I’ve been thinking of what recipe I can conduct next. Luckily I remembered that deep in the roots of that sea of lace on the sides of the roads is a close relative of our domesticated carrot. Daucus carota, most commonly known in the US as Queen Anne’s Lace is in fact a wild carrot! I’ve never cooked with them before, but have heard that they can be great in recipes as a substitute for our common Domestic Carrot.

Queen Anne’s Lace are extremely abundant along roadsides. They are easy to identify with their long green stems that blossom into a tuft of intricate “lace”. The large lace flower is reminiscent of the collars that Queen Anne, fourth wife of Henry VIII, wore, hence were the common name originates. Queen Anne’s Lace are biennial weeds- meaning they grow through two seasons, and only flower and release their seeds in the second summer.

The Wild Carrot root holds no resemblance to a Domestic Carrot; it is yellowish-white with many small roots sprouting forth from the core. In addition, although it smells just like a Domestic Carrot, it is much tougher and “rootier” than one. I don’t recommend trying to eat the wild variety without some sort of curing beforehand.

Folklore claimed that the flowers could be used to cure epilepsy and increase fertility in men and women. Today we associate its nutritional value to be similar to that of the Domestic Carrot.

Taxonomy
Common Names: Queen Anne’s Lace, Wild Carrot, Bird’s Nest, and Bishop’s Lace.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Daucus
Species: D. carota

Distribution: Native to Europe and southwest Asia, but naturalized in northeast North America and Australia.

Quote of the Plant: “God send me well to keep” –Motto of Queen Anne of Cleves.