It's wild carrot season, also known as Queen Anne's Lace, or bird's nest. It's one of the most mis-identified plants I see here on the internet, which is dangerous because the lookalikes range from bad-rash to deadly-if-ingested. Supposedly how Socrates died, if you believe the tall tale.
See that little dark purpley central flower? It's supposed to make it look like a bug is already feasting on it, and it's the surest way to make an ID. Now, not every single wild carrot flower has this little doot, but if I'm planning on harvesting, I only take the ones that do, just so I can be absolutely certain I have the correct plant.
@Cat_LeFey thanks for the tip! Turns out I have QAL growing 5 min away from me, it's at a bus stop though so unfortunately its not harvestable. So if Im understanding your post and the comments properly, you can fry up the flower heads and put the root in your coffee? Can you eat the root like a commercially available carrot?
Sorry this is just so cool I'm probably gonna put this in the plant guide I'm making
@Cheesealicious Yeah, it was brought to the Americas by invading Europeans because it was for eating. The roots are extremely woody and tough to eat raw. Like parsnip, it's meant for stews, but it has a distinct carrot flavor. You can pull one up and just smell it to get an idea of what it tastes like.
Chicory root coffee is a popular thing in my region, but I like the "vegetable-y" flavor of the wild carrot root better, so I do that instead.
@Cat_LeFey Where I live, we get a lot of Alexanders, which is supposedly edible. However it grows side by side with hemlock water dropwort, which is . . . less edible.
@Cat_LeFey definitely important to get it right! But it's interesting that you mention the lookalikes being toxic vs. Queen Anne's lace itself — my understanding has always been that for some people this plant is a folk abortifacient & that like any other abortifacient herb it therefore should be considered toxic as well, though not as dangerous as hemlock.
I would love your own perspective on that especially since I'm not clear what you're harvesting QAL for! As I imagine we both know, the dose makes the poison so toxicity is more like a contextual gradient than a hard & fast designation. I could totally fathom that what I've heard about QAL toxicity is an exaggeration, especially since domestic carrots are so safe to eat. But since I've only had QAL presented in a context of "use only if in need of pregnancy termination" I'm now very curious about what other uses it has & how much caution is actually required.
@fey It's the seeds that are used as an abortifactant, and yes, they're toxic because they release an oil. The rest of the plant is okay, I use the root dried and ground as a coffee substitute, but I've seen people fry the flower heads as well.
@Cat_LeFey that's fascinating! Thx so much for sharing. Not for the first time, I'm wishing that more herbal toxicity warnings came with specific info about what parts of the plant are the risky part. We have QAL growing in one spot outside & now I'm tempted to do a skin sensitivity test to start gauging whether my own body would be okay ingesting a flower head. I kind of don't want to uproot it yet because I'd rather have a larger stand of the plants first.
@fey Its good to be cautious, better safe than sorry! There are a lot of plants we eat that have poisonous parts that should come with warnings. Domestic carrot seeds have the exact same toxins, potato leaves and flowers are poisonous, broccoli root is toxic, and if you eat a rhubarb leaf you might die. We probably shouldn't cultivate plants with any parts that will kill us, but it seems we humans love courting death, lol!
@Cat_LeFey we sure do lol! I knew that about potato & rhubarb, guessed as much now about carrot seeds — didn't know that about broccoli root! Is that an issue for all brassicas?
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