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Daucus carota L.

Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace

Queen Anne’s lace, or wild carrot, is native to Europe and southwest Asia. Settlers broought it to North America and Australia, where it has become naturalized. The carrots we eat are a subspecies of this plant, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.

Plants: Up to 3′ (91 cm) tall, smelling exactly like carrots.

Leaves: Foliage is relatively sparse, finely divided, looking like that of yarrow or carrots.

Flowers: Dense white umbrella-shaped or flat-topped flowerheads atop long spindly-looking hairy stems. Each flowerhead is composed of dozens of tiny 5-petaled flowers. Sometimes a single dark red flower, the “ruby,” appears in the center. As the flowers age, the flowerheads become convex as the centers sink, eventually folding up into a ball-shaped “nest” the protects the fruits developing within.

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

The ”ruby,” or tiny red flower in the center of the white umbel.

Fruits: Small, dry, bumpy, oval and flattened, with short styles and hooked spines, as well as protective enveloping hairs.

Habitats: Very common along roadsides, or in fields.

Similar species.

Edibility: Wild carrot roots are edible when young, before they become woody, but because this plant is easily confused with the extremely poisonous spotted water hemlock, it is unsafe to consume this plant. Leaves can cause phytophotodermatitis.

Medical:

Online References:

The Bugwood Wiki

Illinois Wildflowers

Wikipedia

Plants for a Future

Purdue University's Center for New Crops and Plants Products

The Jepson Manual

 

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/1/2019 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/14/2014 · Oak Hill, Littleton Conservation Land, Littleton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 6″ (13 × 14 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/2/2025 · Land’s End, Bailey Island, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 5″ (12 × 12 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

6/16/2013 · Sonny and Donna’s, Tenant’s Harbor, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (16 × 21 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 6″ (9.3 × 14 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/28/2009 · Near Nashua River Boat Ramp, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 3½ × 2½″ (8.7 × 7 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

That's a horsefly (Stonemyia rasa) · 8/12/2025 · Wildes Wildlife Management Area, Bowdoinham, Maine · ≈ 1¼ × 1¼″ (3.4 × 3.4 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/8/2016 · Dunstable Rural Land Trust, Dunstable, Mass­a­chu­setts

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/23/2025 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (12 × 8.1 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

1/5/2026 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/25/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.6 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/18/2020 · Woodward Point Preserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 16 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/25/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 4 × 3″ (9.9 × 7.6 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/9/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/2/2025 · Land’s End, Bailey Island, Maine · ≈ 4 × 4″ (10 × 10 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/4/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

The “bird’s nest.” · 8/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

9/3/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/12/2025 · New Harbor, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 3″ (9.4 × 8.4 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/31/2016 · Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/2/2025 · Land’s End, Bailey Island, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 3½″ (8.9 × 8.6 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

8/20/2025 · Peaks Island, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 4½″ (11 × 12 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

6/16/2013 · Sonny and Donna’s, Tenant’s Harbor, Maine · ≈ 5 × 6″ (13 × 16 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 3″ (8.6 × 7.9 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

That's a Misumena vatia, or goldenrod crab spider. · 7/23/2025 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 1¾ × 1″ (4.5 × 2.8 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/26/2025 · River Point Conservation Area, Falmouth, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 8.1 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/9/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 11 cm)

Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot, bird’s nest, bishop’s lace)

7/2/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassAsteridaeA large class that encompasses asters
OrderApialesIncludes carrots, celery, parsley, and ivy
FamilyApiaceaeCarrot or parsley family, also includes angelica, anise, caraway, celery, chervil, cicely, coriander/cilantro, cumin, dill, fennel, hemlock, lovage, Queen Anne’s Lace, parsnip
GenusDaucusAncient Greek name for this genus
SpeciescarotaFrom Greek karoton, “carrot”

About plant names...

Range:

About this map...

Daucus carota description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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