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Apiaceae
Queen Anne's Lace
Daucus carota
Sanctuary, refuge, delicate femininity.
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Genus
- Daucus
- Native to
- Europe, western Asia
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- Biennial
- Height
- 30–120 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low to moderate
- Hardiness
- 3–9
- Lifespan
- Biennial; self-seeds prolifically
Did you know
- The name comes from a legend that Queen Anne of England was tatting lace and pricked her finger — the single dark purple floret in the center of each white umbel is her drop of blood.
- It's the wild ancestor of the cultivated carrot — crush the taproot and it smells exactly like one, though wild roots are tough and woody.
- Each flower head is actually a cluster of hundreds of tiny five-petaled flowers arranged in a flat lacy disk called an umbel.
- After flowering, the umbel curls inward like a bird's nest — a clever shape that catches dew and protects developing seeds.
- It's a critical larval host plant for swallowtail butterflies and a favorite landing pad for beneficial wasps and beetles.
Color meanings
White
Quiet refinement