Queen Anne’s Lace…..

 

Finished another page for my nature journal….this time Queen Anne’s Lace is featured.

And the flap opened…..it looks like this!

I don’t know if you noticed my note under the words “the royal herb”, it says “written with my crow quill”.   I found a crow feather the other day, brought it home and carved a tip on it to make my own writing instrument.  I wrote the words with my quill and some India ink….now that’s getting back to nature.

Interesting what you can learn about a common weed, that grows in most parts of the U.S., with just a little trip to Wikipedia.  Actually, it is the root of this plant that has been hybridized into the crunchy root vegetable we eat in our salads, the carrot.  Hence, the name “wild carrot”, carrot is a part of its’ Latin name, too.

It has been used as a medicinal herb to treat urinary ailments and as a contraceptive.

It, also, looks similar to the very poisonous Hemlock.  Do NOT eat this plant unless you are certain you have Queen Anne’s Lace.

Another fun Queen Anne’s Lace fact is, and I had never noticed this before, but if you look closely you will see one little red flower among the white.  Some researchers say it is there to attract insects that will pollinate the plant.

Of course, there is a legend, too, and that is:  Queen Anne was an excellent lace maker and the red flower represents a drop of blood on the lace from her pricking her finger with her needle.

Play with a little watercolor, bits of paper, glue and plant material and do a little research….now that’s a good day!

I’m going to be MIA for a week or two, so I won’t be blogging for a bit but I will be reading and commenting on yours.  We are off on a short trip…..details to follow and doing a little “house-work”.  See you soon.