THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Queen Anne’s Lace

Lisa Karen Miller

          Daucus carota, or wild carrot, was once used as a morning-after pill.  Native to Iran and Afghanistan, it traveled to America from Europe, and across the continent with pioneers.  Women considered it an essential herb to have on hand and made sure to carry its seeds everywhere.  This may explain its presence along roadsides, ditches, fields, and backyards across our nation.

          As early as the fourth century B.C.E., Hippocrates references its use as an abortifacient. Contrarily, it also had the reputation of enhancing fertility. Saint Anne was said to have conceived Mary when she was well past the age of childbearing.

          Centuries of selective breeding have transformed this wild creature whose root can only be eaten when young into our domesticated, modern carrot.

          As the root matures, it becomes tough and fibrous. It can be used to make an orange dye, a coffee substitute, or a syrup.  The roots have been shown to kill bacteria and lower blood pressure. An herb tea made with the leaves is a diuretic and a urinary antiseptic.  

          Wild harvesters take advantage of this free food: fresh leaves can be added to soups or salads; the peeled flower stalk has a carrot-like flavor, raw or cooked; and the flower makes a tasty jelly or a garnish.

          Be extra sure, however, that what you are harvesting is Queen Anne’s Lace and not its deadly look-alike cousin – Poison Hemlock.  If the crushed leaves smell like fresh carrot, you’re safe.

          The tiny red flower in the middle of the white umbel is there to attract pollinators, but a better story is that it is a drop of blood from a royal digit.  Queen Anne of England, an expert lace maker, pricked her finger while practicing her art.  Another tale says that it is a jewel from her crown. Some say it is the devil’s spit and carries a curse. 

Taking the flower into your home would cause the death of your mother. This accounts for two of its common names:  Mother May Die and Stepmother’s Blessing. This precaution may have become entangled with the warning about mistaking it for Poison Hemlock.

          In the language of flowers, it says “Do not refuse me,” and “Fantasy, haven, and sanctuary.”  One superstition says that if a woman “who is true to herself” plants it in her garden, it will thrive.     

          Queen Anne bore 17 children, all of whom died before her.  This Mother’s Day, let’s remember all the women who have suffered the tragedy of outliving their children.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller