Daucus carota
I have been on the look out for the first of the Queen Anne's lace of the season and yesterday I saw it alongside our walking trail.
My local field guide says this:
"Wild carrot, or Queen Anne's lace, is a biennial and its large root distinguishes it from the more common rattlesnake weed. Also, Queen Anne's lace is a common name used for many species of plants with delicate white flowers."
Here is a section of the Handbook of Nature Study, page 542:
"...this medallion flower attributed to Queen Anne is well worth studying. It belongs to the family Umbelliferae, which one of my small pupils always called 'umbrelliferae'because, he averred, they have umbrella blossoms. In the case of Queen Anne's lace the flower-cluster, or umbel, is made up of many smaller umbels, each a most perfect flower-cluster in itself."
"The wild carrot is known in some localities as the 'bird's-nest weed, ' because the maturing fruit-clusters, their edges curving inward look like little birds' nests."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 544
I know that spring is well along now that the Queen Anne's Lace is in bloom. It will be here all summer to enjoy.
Here are a few of the websites I have used in my study of wildflowers this term:
CalFlora.org -specific to California and free to join.
Northwest Common Wildflowers -National Park service coloring book
California Wildflowers -California Academy of Sciences, index by color
I am going to list a few Dover Publications coloring books that we have enjoyed over the years. You might like to have one on hand to include with your study of flowers with your children.
I have also used these field guides in my research of wildflowers:
This completes our families focus work on flowers, both in our garden and with a few wildflowers. We are going to be choosing a new focus for the summer... probably butterflies! Get ready to see what we learn and how we get started.
I hope you have enjoyed this series along with our family. If you are interested in reading all the flower entries, here is a list and the links:
(From original entry)
Flowers Blooming Already or That We Can Study Right Now
Violet (page 476) Finished 3/18/09. Here is a LINK.
Buttercup (page 516) Finished 4/27/09. Here is a LINK.
Tulip (page 552) Finished 4/1/09. Here is a LINK.
California Poppy (page 531) Finished 4/8/09. Here is a LINK.
Petunias (page 581) Finished 4/20/09. Here is a LINK.
Mullein (page 537) Finished 5/5/09. Here is a LINK.
Dandelion (page 531) Finished 3/25/09. Here is a LINK.
Flowers that Will Study in Addition to Those Above
Bleeding Heart (page 558) Finished 4/15/09. Here is a LINK.
Bachelor's Buttons (page 578)Finished 5/20/09. Here is a LINK.
Sweet Peas (page 588) Finished 5/27/09. Here is a LINK.
Pick your own flower or you can follow along with our study of butterflies starting in a few weeks. I probably won't post any butterfly entries until June 24th.
I am not going to add Mr. Linky to this entry since no one else has posted in the last two weeks. You can leave me a comment with a link if you complete a flower study this week and would like to share it with everyone.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
