Medicinal Monday... Legends and Lore -Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace grows wild across the United States and is often seen in meadows and on the sides of roads in Connecticut in August and September. This beautiful white flower has an interesting history and was used by Native Americans as a source of food and medicine.

Legends of Queen Anne's Lace 

There are many stories of how this plant got its name. One legend claims that the name of this plant originated in the days of King James I and his wife, Queen Anne, who lived between 1574 and 1619. It is said that the Queen pricked her finger while sewing and the drop of blood is why the flower has a purple center. The flowers of this plant were thought to resemble the lace of the Queen's headdress. Another story involves Queen Anne II that challenged her ladies in waiting to create a piece of lace as beautiful as the flower but none could make lace that could outshine the real thing.

About Queen Anne's Lace

Also called wild carrot, this European plant was brought to North America with the colonists and today this plant is naturalized throughout the United States.  Queen Anne's Lace is a biennial whose flowers have a flat-topped white umbel made up of numerous white flowers with a solitary purple flower in the center. The flower cluster is curled up and gradually opens to allow pollination. This biennial flowers in its second season and then dies. The hollow branched flower stems grow to four feet tall and are covered with short coarse hair. This plant produces a yellow taproot that is high in sugar. At the end of the season, the cluster rolls itself shut when it goes into seed. The leaves are feathery green and resemble those of today's carrots, and unfortunately resemble poison hemlock, fool's parsley, and water hemlocks, all related to Queen Anne's Lace but deadly. A small bristly seed is produced at the end of each flower stalk that is disseminated by attaching itself to something or seeds itself where it falls.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Many Native American communities used the young roots as a source of food as this plant has a slight carrot flavor and is rich in sugar.  Some communities dried the roots and stored them for winter use. Most commonly the roots were either boiled or steamed and then eaten. 

Medicinally, this plant was used in a variety of ways. The Cherokee made an infusion of the entire plant and used it as a wash for swelling. The Delaware made an infusion of the blossoms when they are in full bloom to treat diabetes. The Iroquois used a decoction of the roots to treat men for a blood disorder and to treat pimples and paleness. They also drank a decoction of this plant for urinary problems. The Micmac ate the leaves of this plant and used it as a purgative. The Mohegans made an infusion of the blossoms and used it to treat diabetes.

Did You Know...

Because of the delicate flowers of Queen Anne's Lace, it is associated with beauty.

Queen Anne's Lace is also referred to as "bishop's flower" and symbolizes safety and refuge because when it goes to seed it resembles a bird's nest and thus a symbol of a happy home.

Modern carrots were originally developed from Queen Anne's Lace.

The roots of Queen Anne's Lace are yellow and if you intend to try them, they must be harvested before the plant blooms. After the plant blooms, the roots become too woody to eat.

Hippocrates prescribed crushed Queen Anne's Lace seeds to prevent pregnancies.

Queen Anne's Lace is listed as a noxious weed in 35 states.

It is a host plant for bees, eastern black swallowtail caterpillars, and many species of butterflies.