Queen Anne's Lace/Wild Carrot

I have seen so much Queen's Anne Lace this year, it seems to quite prolific around here this summer.  It is in the Parsley family. The seeds are beneficial antiseptic diuretic usefil in the treatment of cystitis and prostatitis. Also the seeds are used for the prevention and washing out of gravel and urinary stones. As a diuretic, it helps with dropsy and the elimination of uric acid from the body (thus, used for gout). The seeds, which are high in volatile oil, are soothing to the digestive system, useful for colic and flatulence. Some herbalists employ the seeds as an implantation preventer. The root is very high in Vitamin A and minerals. The juice is reputed to have anti-cancer activity. The root helps to expel worms and is an effective antacid for heartburn and gastritis. A poultice of the root is excellent for first aid, especially for itchy skin. CAUTION: Queen Anne's Lace has several poisonous look alikes. Do NOT use this herb (seeds) with pregnancy.

http://www.holoweb.com/cannon/queenann.htm

Women have used the seeds from Daucus carota commonly known as wild carrot or queen anne's lace, for centuries as a contraceptive, the earliest written reference dates back to the late 5th or 4th century B.C. appearing in a work written by Hippocrates. John Riddle writes in Eve's Herbs, that queen anne's lace (QAL) seeds are one of the more potent antifertility agents available, and a common plant in many regions of the world. "The seeds, harvested in the fall, are a strong contraceptive if taken orally immediately after coitus."1 (penis/vagina sex)
This information comes from this website:
http://www.sisterzeus.com/qaluse.htm   I think you will find a very interesting site to read through.

The ubiquitous biennial summer wildflower Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota ssp carota) is common throughout North America, though originally from Europe & Asia.  It's also called Wild Carrot, since the domestic carrot is a variant or subspecies of the same species (D. carota ssp sativa). It's probable that Queen Anne's Lace arrived in North America with the first European settlers as a food plant; it is by now naturalized across the continent.


Queen Anne's Lace or Lace Flower is of course named for the lacecap blossom which, on close examination, is a compound umbel made up of several smaller lacecaps.


According to legend, Queen Anne, wife of King James I, challenged her lady's-in-waiting to a contest to see who best could produce a piece of lace as beautiful as a carrot's flower. No one could out-match the young queen. However, just as she finished, she accidentally pricked her finger with a needle, for which reason Queen Anne's Lace has a single red flower right at the center.

At first glance the Queen Anne's Lace looks completely white, but if you look at the center, there indeed is that central maroon-brown to purple blossom! Just one, so tiny it's easily unseen.

It's alternately called Bird Nests because as the flower dries & goes to seed, it curls upward forming a near-globe with bird-access in the middle, drying into the shape of a bird's nest. They're occasionally called Bee's Nests because pollinators of several kinds will be seen crawling over the umbels in July.
 

Here it is starting to go to seed and creating a bird's nest look

and here it is slightly drier..

The edible root of the wild carrot is thin, pale, & much more difficult to get a good harvest from compared to a fat domestic carrot, but can be worth the trouble because quite flavorful. There are however some toxic look-alike plants such as Poison Hemlock or Fool's Parsley (Conium maculatum) or Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata), so take care with wild collecting. The wild carrot is the only one which has the maroon central flower.

 
Traditionally a tea made from Queen Anne's Lace was used to treat diabetes, but when scientific research got 'round to testing its efficacy, it had none. Teas made from various parts of the plants including roots, leaves, blooms, & seeds have been variously used for everything from dropsy to kidney disease to scurvy.




Most of its traditional uses turn out not to be valid, though its use for treating mild cases of worms may have some faint foundation. And very broadly speaking, Queen Anne's Lace is a bacteriacide, is rich in vitamins, plus it has chemical components that have been proven to function as an abortifacient, like a morning-after pill, which is perhaps a warning to women attempting to get pregnant. An additional warning goes to who has had allergenic skin reactions to chrysanthemums or celery, as they will likewise be susceptible to dermatitis if exposed to Queen Anne's Lace.