For the music group, see Wild Carrot (music group).

Wild carrot, or Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia; domesticated carrots are cultivars of this species as well.

It is a biennial plant growing up to 1 m tall, bearing an umbel of bright white flowers that turn into a "birds's nest" seed case after blooming. Very similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock, it is distinguished by a mix of bi-pinnate and tri-pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its stems and leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in its center.

Cultivation and uses

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See carrot for the modern cultivated forms of the species.

Like the cultivated carrot, the wild carrot root is edible while young, but quickly becomes too woody to consume. A teaspoon of crushed seeds has long been used as a form of natural birth control - its use for this purpose was first described by Hippocrates over 2,000 years ago. Research conducted on mice has offered a degree of confirmation for this use - it was found that Wild carrot disrupts the implantation process, and is thus an abortifacient. Chinese studies have also indicated that the seeds block progesterone synthesis, which could explain this effect.

It is recommended that, as with all herbal remedies and wild food gathering, one use appropriate caution. Extra caution should be used in this case, as it bears close resemblance to a dangerous species (see Water Hemlock).

Queen Anne's lace

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Wild carrot is introduced and naturalised in North America, where it is often known as "Queen Anne's lace". It is so called because the flower resembles lace; the red flower in the center represents a blood droplet where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace. The function of the tiny red flower, coloured by anthocyanin, is to attract insects. Image:DSCRF0787.JPG|A young Queen Anne's Lace with red flower in center. Image:DSCF0784.JPG|Queen Anne's Lace in southern Maine.

References

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Abortifacients | Apiaceae | Chemical contraception | Medicinal herbs and fungi

Gulerod-slægten | Wilde Möhre | Wilde peen