Queen Anne's lace or wild carrot, herb ( Daucus carota ) of the family Umbelliferae (carrot family), native to the Old World but naturalized and often weedy throughout North America. Similar in appearance to the cultivated carrot (which is believed to have been derived from this plant), it has feathery foliage but a woody root. The tiny white flowers bloom in a lacy, flat-topped cluster (called an umbel) until they wither, when the cluster becomes nest-shaped (whence another of its names, bird's nest). The plant was formerly used in folk medicine as a diuretic and a stimulant. Queen Anne's lace is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Apiales, family Umbelliferae.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.