Queen Anne’s Lace plants, such as this beauty, have been flowering all week and soon will look like waves of snow rolling on our fields.
These wild celery-carrot plants are native to Europe and their scientific binomial is Daucus carota, which seems to translate into “carrot family carrot.”.
There’s a debated legend involving the plants’ name and the red or purple spot that sometimes appears in the center of their flowers. Queen Anne supposedly was tatting lace and pricked her finger; one drop of her royal blood fell and spoiled the lace; however, the royal blood made it a valuable heirloom after which the plant was named.
The debate is as to which of two Queen Annes supposedly yelled “Ouch!” – Queen Anne of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1574-1619) or Queen Anne of Denmark (1665-1714). (Brooklin, Maine).