This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot)

I think this was meant for the group but it does not appear to have
made it (i.e. forwarding).

Sean O.

    *           *           *           *           *           *

From: lyn@anchor.engr.sgi.com (Lyn Dearborn)
Subject: Re: Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot)
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 16:54:50 -0700 (PDT)

I just returned from a Conference at the Univ. of Victoria (Vancouver Island)
in Canada where I saw QAL growing but in much less profusion than California
& Oregon. (I also have seen a "pinkish" version ... near Mt. Rainier, but it
was just one or two plants out of many & I assumed it was a "fluke"). Where
my sister lived in Oregon, QAL was referred to as "chigger weed" because
those nasty little mites called chiggers (chiggars?) could be found there is
fairly large numbers. If I ever encounter seeds for this variety I will
certainly collect them for Sean & anyone else who wants them, but it is
difficult when the plants are full of seed heads to be sure what color they
are.

I used to teach a class once a year on Ethnobotany of Northern California
(focussing on the San Francisco Peninsula). While we don't see very much
QAL, we see a LOT of Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum), and the risk to
human life (no cure/remedy) isn't worth mistaking it for an edible plant like
fennel. The only "non-death" I, personally, know about happened a couple of
years ago during a docent training hike up in Pt Reyes... One of the students
ate some seeds, thinking this was a fennel plant. She lost all sensation in
her mouth and incured many other symptoms associated with poison hemlock
ingestion, except she didn't die. This was the choice of Socrates, but it is
hoped that no "plant people" will follow in his footsteps.  In my classes,
I always tell my students to avoid the carrot family altogether since most
of its members can cause physical problems of one sort or another.  The
most distinguishing factor in telling the difference between hemlock &
fennel (other than fragrance), is that even while very small, hemlock has
purple blotches on its stems ... its odor is a little "musky", even when
dried.

The same day that this "docent student" chewed some seeds & took ill, I was
in a different class at point reyes & was assisting the teachers in collecting
her books, etc., & loading them in her car. From about 100 ft away, I heard
what sounded like someone blowing on an elderberry whistle... Since I have
never been successful at making one myself, I had to go check it out. When I
got over to these young, I discovered they were blowing on dried poison
hemlock. I asked them if they actually put the sticks into their mouths, &
they said they only blew across the tops, as you would a soda bottle. Their
father was totally outraged that we would have poisonous plants growing in
our parks without labelling them! (as in, label all of them). He said the
option to labelling all of them was to pull them out! It seems they were from
New York and not used to being in the "wilds" so to speak. I drove hims over
to the Visitor's center so he could call poison control, and TRIED to impress
on him that whenever you visit an outdoor area that is "foreign" to you, it is
wise to visit the Visitor's Center, if there is one, or seek out a ranger
to have local poisonous plants/animals pointed out to him.

As "plant enthusiasts" we are often put in danger without knowing it, & I
can't caution any/all of you to not ingest any plant you have not had
possitively identified to you. A good example of this is Digitalis vs
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Occasionally someone will make what they
think is comfrey tea & it turns out to be digitallis. This happened
about 10 yrs ago in Menlo Park after some people attended a very enthusiastic
lecture on beneficial herbs. It you really know these plants, you would never
mistake digitalis for a member of the borage family -- one is soft & fuzzy;
the other scratchy, but to the "beginner"/untrained eye, accidents happen &
when they do it can be tragic. Please, have a wonderful summer ... just do
it cautiously!

lyn


"The road to Enlightenment is long & hard, bring magazines & a snack."

"The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier."

"If you have to hate, hate gently"

People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause
of the future.

It is said that the lonely eagle flies to the mountain peaks while the
lowly ant crawls the ground, but cannot the soul of the ant soar as
high as the eagle?

^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
"We did not weave the web of life.  We |        Lyn Dearborn
are merely a strand in it.  Whatever   |  Master Gardener/Naturalist
we do to the web, we do to ourselves"  | Native Basketry Instruction
  --"Walk gently on Mother Earth" --   | dearborn@anchor.engr.sgi.com
           Aaniin Anishinaabeg -- Mikinaak niin nindoodem
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index