It's summertime in North America again...and along with the heat and humidity here in Mid-Missouri (home to Weeds & Wildflowers), a bevvy of natural beauty makes the long, hot days a little more bearable.
Summer Days = Wildflower Wonder
One of the loveliest parts of our summer days here is the bountiful blooms and the idyllic practice of picking wildflowers.
Whether it's a handful for your momma, a few stems for a friend, or a bouquet for the wifey, nothing says "I love you" quite so clearly as hand-picked wildflowers.
These humble plants are often just weeds, but that doesn't make them any less beautiful or any less capable of expressing how much we care. It's the thought and the effort that goes into gathering blooms for your loved one that counts.
The simple yet stunning stems of wildflowers inspire whimsy, adoration, and awe (and the occassional, unorthodox use of Dad's side-by-side ATV to fill it with said whimsical wildflowers - see proof in photo below). :D
In fact, there's even a movement of "wildflower women". More on that in another post. :)
Queen Anne's Lace vs. Poison Hemlock
As pretty as these blooms are, some are also pretty dangerous.
Poison Hemlock often gets mistaken for one of summer's prettiest posies, Queen Anne's Lace. And lately, with all the buzz around Hemlock's toxicity and the scary headlines we've seen about it, several folks have told me they were too afraid to pick Queen Anne's Lace for fear of accidentally getting a hold of its toxic cousin, Hemlock.
This fear is totally understandable and warranted, due to hemlock's highly toxic nature (it can cause some pretty serious health concerns). However, with just a bit of information, it's pretty easy to tell the two plants apart.
How to Identify Queen Anne's Lace
Queen Anne's Lace (which is actually wild carrot) makes for a stunning summer bouquet. It also dries and preserves beautifully.
Queen's Anne's Lace is more delicate than Hemlock, with slim stems that only grow up to about 4 feet tall. It's tightly bunched flowers typically have a purple or red dot in the center. It also has "hairy legs", or slightly fuzzy stems that are green, with no purplish tint.
How to Identify Poison Hemlock
Hemlock grows taller and is generally a bigger plant than Queen Anne's Lace. It's larger flowers are not as tightly bunched as Queen Anne's Lace, nor do they have the red or purple center. It's stems are much thicker, often with a purple tint (nature's ways of saying "don't touch!").
And though hemlock dries beautifully, it's a no-touch kind of plant. Even burning it can release toxins into the air! Spraying it with weed killer may be the best way to eradicate it from a safe distance.
How to Tell Queen Anne's Lace from Poison Hemlock: A Side-by-side Comparison
Here's a quick side-by-side comparison between Queen Anne's Lace and Poison Hemlock to help you tell them apart.
Queen Anne's Lace | Poison Hemlock |
Harmless and lovely | Highly Toxic |
Tightly bunched flowers forming one bloom | Loosely "bunched" flowers with separate, smalller bunches on the same stem |
Grows up to 4 ft tall | Grows 4 ft plus |
Purple or Red dot in center of flower and "hairy" stems | No red or purple in blooms, but may have red or purple on stems (an indicator of toxicity in many plants) |
In the two photos below, Queen Anne's Lace is on the left. Notice the purple dot in the center of the tightly bunched white bloom. On the right is poison hemlock, with it's loosely bunched blossoms and thicker, purplish stem.
In general, be cautious when picking wildflowers, as poison hemlock, oak, and ivy can often be found amongst the blooms. Always use discernment and your best judgement. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Take care out there, Lovelies!
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