Wild Carrot (Queen Anne's Lace) seedpod

Wild Carrot. The intricate lace quality of these when in flower has earned the plant its other name, Queen Anne's Lace. The shape of the flower head is called an unbellate, which means shaped like an umbrella. Picture two shows the mature seeds of the flower bracts when they close around the mature seeds, holding them in what is commonly described as a bird's nest. The seeds, small and lined with four rows of spines, are dispersed by animals, whose fur picks up the seeds as they pass by (picture one the seeds are gone). The seeds can be used as a spice and steeped in hot water to make tea.