This has always been one of my favorite wild flowers. Not only are Deucus carota visually attractive but they are a beneficial weed. Beneficial weed seems like an oxymoron, especially to an amateur gardener like me.
Queen Anne's Lace as it is known in North America, attracts lady bugs and other omnivorous insects. It is in the same family of plant as carrot, parsnip and dill. And is similar to poison hemlock, which was used to kill Socrates.
I often thought about cultivating a wildflower garden.
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8 comments:
And very pretty it looks too, weed or no...
A wildflower garden sounds amazing! Lovely flower.
They are so pretty, but also as invasive. I've got them everywhere. :)
Pretty photo, Steve.
i like them. lots of little flowers make up a big flower.
it really does look like some kind of lace..but not like that ugly collar of queen ann's. i also like the bird's nest made of the spiky seeds.
web info...
It is yellowish in colour, spindle-shaped, slender, firm and woody; a pernicious weed in some areas. It is edible when young but the root (especially the centre) soon gets tough and woody due to the high content of xylem tissue. The domestic carrot is a genetic variant that lacks most of this tissue.
more web info...
Since Queen Anne's Lace was introduced to this country, many people consider it an invasive weed. It will sometimes crowd and compete with native plants.
Some animals have benefited from the arrival of this wildflower. Caterpillars of the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly eat the leaves, bees and other insects drink the nectar, and predatory insects, such as the Green Lacewing, come to Queen Anne's Lace to attack prey, such as aphids.
It's one of my favorites along the roadsides and in the ditches ...
I like them too. Have you ever uprooted one and smelled the root? Just like carrots.
These were a very common wild flower in my youth in England. But I knew it as Mother's Die and was forbidden to bring it in the house! I came across the Queen Anne's Lace name and adopted that instead. Much better. How is it beneficial though? I think there are probably various types of this flower around as well. In fact I've been photographing some this morning. Haven't decided whether to include them in my post yet though.
This still is my favorite free-spirited wild flower,and I've enjoyed them since childhood!...
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