along the country road #3
A few years ago, I became interested in pressing flowers as a craft. I discovered a secret – one of the best flowers to press is Queen Anne’s Lace. Laid out on the page, it has the look of intricate crochet.
Queen Anne’s Lace, also called wild carrot, devil’s-plague, and carotte sauvage, is a tall weed with an umbrella-like cluster of lacy white flowers. The flowers are an umbel, meaning that the individual flowers all radiate from the same point on the stem to form a head. The flower is commonly seen in hayfields and waste places, and along roadsides.
Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota L.)
Daucus is the ancient Greek name for carrot; carota is the old generic name for carrot.
Don’t let the name ‘carrot’ fool you, as the roots are said to be somewhat poisonous. Also, beware of look-alikes. There are many flowers that can be described as a ‘white umbel’, some of them poisonous to the touch. Use an identification guide before you investigate too closely!
like snowflakes in summer
Queen Anne’s Lace
Daucus carota L.
wild carrot
inedible
no colour
unsuitable
as a vegetable
(poison probable)
white lace
three dimensional
tatted for Anne
‘Not Suitable’
for a Queen
(too usual)
umbrella
non-functional
(leaky)
unsuitable
for the rain
(or even drizzle)
in moonlight
unforgettable
common words
unsuitable
devil’s-plague?
ethereal!
Published as: ‘Queen Anne’s Lace’, Winter 1993, The Antigonish Review 92:80-81.
(revised)
© Jane Tims
nichepoetryandprose 
Great flower, great poem!
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Watching Seasons
August 16, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Hi. I’ll watch for other posts in your blog to do with wildflowers. Interesting to see how similar the flowers are. Jane
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jane tims
August 16, 2011 at 9:41 pm
They really do look like little snowflakes ….
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JD
August 10, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Cool poem Jane….I like the way you set the flow through it … if you get my understanding ( the *ble is a cool touch) ~Denis
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JD
August 10, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Hi Denis. Thanks, it was fun to write. The comments are so helpful since I don’t always see my poems very objectively. By the way, I finally figured out how to set my camera on manual focus, but I can’t see the viewfinder well enough to get it right! Anyway, I kind of like my out-of-focus photos. …Jane
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jane tims
August 10, 2011 at 9:12 pm
I wonder if I can buy seeds for these lovely “weeds”? I’m thinking of turning my garden into a moon garden, a garden with all white flowers. I bought a moon-flower this summer but it hasn’t bloomed yet. Wondering if it needs something I’m not giving it… I think Queen Anne’s Lace would look nice and be more natural and native to our area. I like your poem!
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Barbara Rodgers
August 10, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Hi Barbara. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. I think a moon garden would be a wonderful idea. There are companies that specialize in wild seed. Don’t give up on the moon-flower. Sometimes plants don’t bloom for a couple of years. They just need to get well established. Jane
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jane tims
August 10, 2011 at 9:06 pm