The Queen's Lace
You see them growing along side the road, in empty lots, and just about anywhere nothing else will grow. They look like small white galaxies spinning on a thread. It is Queen Anne’s Lace; also known as wild carrot, or bishop’s lace. There are several fables surrounding the origin of the flower’s most popular name but my favorite is the tale about Queen Anne of England. If you look closely you’ll see that every flower is composed of dozens of smaller florets, each with a dark red dot in the center. The fable claims that the Queen pricked her finger while making lace, staining the lace with blood.
The flower is, in fact, a member of the carrot family, and its roots can be eaten. There are even recipes such as wild carrot cake. For more information on Queen Anne’s Lace check out the World Carrot Museum website at http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/queen.html.
Here are a few photos I shot at High School Park in Elkins Park, Montgomery County. By the way, the park is a great place for photography. Their website is www.fhsp.org.
All are photographed with a Nikon 35-70 macro lense in macro mode. Hand held with an f/stop around 2.8 at 1/125 sec.
