Queen Ann's Lace (wild carrot)

[Potter]

So in botany class the other day, my teacher reported mind altering effects when she was boiling up queen ann's lace roots for a preserve. She said she was cooking quite a bit, I also trust her not to have mixed in other members of the Umbelliferae (Apiacae) family. I'm guessing she was cooking up a few hundred roots.

This family contains modern carrots (select breed from queen ann's lace), poison hemlock (Socretes died from, this VERY toxic), Gotu Kola, parsly and corriander.

Any one care to back this up? I'm looking forward to this summer, there are mighty fields of this in western NY, and as long as I head a tad north, no real need to worry bout the hemlock. You need to find the first year plants, the ones without flowers, tenderest root if you want them fresh. They make a fine addition to any meal, lending a powerful, carrot with bite flavour. As far as I know they aren't protected anywhere in the US as they aren't native. Just make sure you don't pick the hemlock. Mmm...jam.