Queen Anne's Lace & Reproductive Autonomy
Herbal Allies for Autonomous Family Planning Series #3
In the last two posts in the series we discussed how we can work with Herbal Allies to support our Autonomous Family Planning and reproductive journeys (an in-depth albeit broad overview of the different herbs and herbal actions that we can work with, for differing reproductive needs) and the history and application of Cottonroot Bark for reproductive care and midwifery. In this article I will be going over the historical, traditional, folk and current application of Queen Anne’s Lace (Wild Carrot) for reproductive sovereignty. This article/plant profile is part of a larger hands-on seasonal medicinecraft Weedwifery series class I teach called “Queen Anne’s Lace Herbal Medicine + Ritual” and my “Natural Family Planning for Wild Womb-Carriers” four-part workshop series, as well as my “Drawing Down the Blood Moon: Pregnancy Release Monitrice Training Program” curriculum. More information about these workshops can be found at my » website « or you can reach out via email at bearwomanwisdom@pm.me for more info~
If you are interested in working with this herb within the full-spectrum childbearing continuum as a plant medicine ally for yourself or others in your community, or of purchasing this plant medicine from me, I implore you to read this article and the “Additional Resources” provided within before doing so. This is provided particularly to potential customers from Etsy because Etsy has strict limitations on what “herbal information” we are allowed to provide within a product listing. This has only gotten worse since reproductive sovereignty and healthcare laws are changing seemingly overnight across the U.S. at the same time that the U.S. government and FDA are cracking down on holistic healthcare products and providers, supplement manufacturers, and small-scale herbal apothecaries. **Due to the nature of this information, and the risks now involved in disseminating this information, all articles in this Reproductive Autonomy Series are held behind a pay wall**
This both protects the integrity and safety of me and my work, my ability to create content that is censored elsewhere on other platforms (like on TT, IG, or on FB), and to support my community-based reproductive justice work.
Friend or Foe: Identifying Queen Anne’s Lace
“Queen Anne has hairy legs”
This is a silly diddy, but a potentially life-saving one. Queen Anne’s Lace, or Wild Carrot (Daucus carota), is more often than not a wildcrafted herbal plant ally. However, being in the Carrot Family (Apiaceae), there are many toxic and non-toxic look-a-likes that you must be able to correctly differentiate from QAL before harvesting. The most insidious of these cousins are Poison Hemlock and Water Hemlock (which look very similar to each other).
» Wildcrafting Safety & Ethics Considerations:
Be 210% sure that you have correctly identified the plant your wish to forage. Please utilize multiple methods of plant identification, at least one of which should be a professional field guide (not a blog post). If you are unsure, NEVER consume a foraged plant that may have a toxic look-a-like.
Many plant species are very hard to tell apart in their early growing phases, but may become unmistakable once they bloom. If unsure, wait to re-ID until they are in-bloom.
Never forage from places of unknown chemical exposure—many waterways are polluted, and most roadsides, ditches, county-maintained walkways/paths and parks, and edges of commercial farms are sprayed with mosquito pesticides and herbicides, and anything near a roadside will have been exposed to exhaust chemicals and potential road run-off pollutants (petrol, oil, coolants, etc.)
Only forage from places of healthy plant populations and limited human/foraging-impact, and consider the regional population of the plant not just the area you are in, as well as what species are invasive vs. native, thriving, at-risk, or endangered before foraging
Only take 1/3 or less of a plant, and of the plants in a given area — Note: Wild Carrot is considered invasive in many places (to the point that seeds cannot be shipped into certain States), re-seeds easily on its own, and is thriving in most areas that it can be found
Wild Carrot being in the ‘Parsley’ or ‘Carrot’ family has many look-a-likes, too many to review here. I will focus on differentiating between the three most worrisome/toxic* plants in this article but please do your own further research if you come across any species in this family, including but not limited to:
*Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) — this is what killed Socrates
*Water hemlock or cowbane (Cicuta spp.) — this is considered the most toxic plant in North America; one species is only in the Western U.S. and one species is found in the entire U.S.
Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) — may cause contact dermatitis
*Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) — can cause -severe- contact burns
Cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum) — some people consider this plant mildly toxic, but I know some foragers who eat it; some people call Common Hogweed ‘cow parsnip’ which is confusing and may explain the ‘potentially toxic’ warning
Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) — another wild edible
Wild celery or garden angelica (Angelica archangelica) — a medicinal
Wild parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) — another wild edible
» Key Identifiers for Wild Carrot (this is NOT extensive):
The stem of QAL is solid or sometimes slightly hollow, but ridged, with no or some branching — Poison Hemlock is hollow like a bamboo cane and often branching, whereas Water Hemlock has multiple hollow chambers near the base of the stem and is also branching
The stem of QAL is harry, not smooth (Giant Hogweed sometimes has hairs)
The stem of QAL is solid in color, not blotchy (Poison Hemlock and Giant Hogweed specifically have purple blotches, Water Hemlock is often blotchy to solid purple)
QAL leaves are matte, more lacey/fern-like (finely lobed) and more linear (not triangular). Poison Hemlock leaves are more triangular (but similarly lobed/fern-like) but shiny, and may smell of carrot -or- more foul like ‘mouse urine’ or parsnips. QAL leaves are hairy on the underside and smell like carrot or parsley when bruised. Giant Hogweed leaves have hairs on the underside, but are large (up to many feet-long) and cause severe contact dermatits/burns. Water Hemlock has the least-similar leaves to QAL or Poison Hemlock.
Poison Hemlock, Giant Hogweed, and QAL have a deep taproot, whereas Water Hemlock has tubers and smaller roots and the roots and lower stem will exude a light to dark-brown liquid when cut.
QAL roots are hairy unlike Poison Hemlock, and QAL roots smell of carrot whereas -supposedly- Poison Hemlock root smells of ‘mouse urine’ or parsnips (I have heard the leaves can smell of carrot though)
Each Carrot-Family member’s ‘flower’ is actually a grouping of tiny flowers, each with 5 petals. They are held in clusters called umbels (what we think of as the ‘flower’). In QAL, often there are one or more purple or red-tinged flowers in the center of the 3-5 inch umbel, but not all plants will have this. When the seeds ripen, QAL umbels often close up on themselves making the characteristic ‘birds nest’.
An umbel is an inflorescence that has flowers with stems that all attach at the same point on the main stem, resulting in an umbrella-like appearance that is often flat-topped.
Poison Hemlock has a similar but often more compound umbel shape but looks more like QAL than Water Hemlock (which are more spread out groupings of flowers within the umbel), with both Hemlocks having flower inflorescence on multiple branching stems. Giant Hogweed umbels are as large as 2.5 feet across!
QAL has long, three-pronged bracts (sometimes referred to as the ‘petticoat’ by foragers) underneath the flower umbel, while poison hemlock does not.
QAL grows between 1-4 feet tall, Poison Hemlock between 3-10 feet tall, Water Hemlock between 1.5-6 feet tall, and Giant Hogweed between 8-20 feet tall.
Toxic look-a-likes such as the Hemlocks typically begin growing early in the year, often around the same time as Elder (and in the same wet locations like ditches and waterways), but bloom at the same time as QAL in late Spring/early Summer through late summer. Waiting for plants to be in-bloom makes ID easier.
QAL prefer to grow in drier, well-draining, often disturbed soil. Many of the other look-a-likes prefer ‘wet feet’ and shadier growing locations, particularly Water Hemlock, but occasionally Poison Hemlock can be found in moist pastures and along meadows near QAL.
The History & Lore of Queen Anne’s Lace
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