Wild Carrot, Queen Anne’s Lace

Some weeds are beautiful!

Wild carrot, also called Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota), is a non-native member of the parsley family that grows wild across the U.S.  Plants have a flat white umbel shaped flower cluster with a red-purple flower in the middle of the cluster. The stems are hairy and the single white or off-white taproot smells like an edible carrot. The roots are actually edible. The flowers are attractive but plants can spread quickly.

Benefits: Wild carrot has been show to have benefits when used as a companion plant for cultivated agricultural crops. The young tap roots are edible and the flowers attract pollinators. Despite these benefits wild carrot is considered a noxious weed and can be a problem in some areas.

You'll find wild carrot growing in a wide range of soils, but especially in dry compacted soils.