Daucus carota

Daucus carota, whose common names include Wild carrot, Bishop's lace, Bird's Nest, and Queen Anne's Lace, is a plant with white blooms in the Apiaceae family. They are native to temperate areas of Europe and southwest regions of Asia, and are also naturalized in North America and Australia. Although the wild carrot is similar in its appearance to the deadly poison hemlock, it has key characteristics that can be used to differentiate the two. Daucus carota is distinguished by tripinnate leaves, small thin hairs on its solid green stems and leaves, a root that smells like carrots for obvious reasons, and a single dark red flower in the center of the umbel on occasion. Like the cultivated carrot (Daucus carota ssp. sativus), the Daucus carota root can be eaten when it's still young, but it can quickly become too woody to consume. Queen Anne's Lace has a completely white tap root, rather than orange, red, or purple like cultivated carrots sometimes display. The flowers of the wild carrot are sometimes eaten after being battered and fried. The leaves can also be edible, but not in large quantities.

• 

  Full sun to partial shade

• 

  Occasional watering

• 

  Full Frost Hardy: 5F (-15°C)

• 

  All soil conditions