# Queen Anne's Lace or poison Hemlock?



## Ravenlost

This grows in our fields and roadsides. I believe it's Queen Anne's Lace, but have never been positive. Anyone know how to tell the difference? If it helps, when the flowers haven't quite bloomed out they have a purple/pink color to them.


----------



## Countrystyle

My book says the hemlock: has parsleylike leaves
: 2-9' tall
the Queen Anne : fernlike leaves and a single dark flower in center
: 1-5' tall
Also, to me, in the pictures...Queen Anne's one big umbrella with many flowers and the
hemlock is many umbrellas with many stems and flowers
hope that made sense and helps some


----------



## offthegrid

According to my book: 

Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) has a "hairy stem and often has a single purple flower in the center of the umbrel of white flowers."

Poison Hemlock has a "hairless stem that is hollow and often spotted with purple."

I think the stems are the easiest way to differentiate. Wild carrot is edible and smells like carrots, but when we took an edible plant class from a local environmental educator his advice was to "avoid all umbrella shaped plants" as a rule of thumb because poison hemlock is so toxic that you can be in trouble very quickly. 

I can't tell from your picture. Can you get a close up of the stem?


----------



## bee

I believe that one in the pic is queen annes lace..I have seen first hand both plants and the stems on the hemlock are much bigger,hollow and purple spotted toward the bottom of the stem. Also hairless. I think once you get the plants side by side you would not confuse them again.


----------



## Ravenlost

Here's a photo of the plant. It's hard to see because of the other weeds, but if you look in the lower right hand side you can see the leaves. They're lacy, not at all like parsley. I'm pretty sure it's Queen Anne's Lace. I have no intention to eat it, but do like to pick them for bouquets.


----------



## mammabooh

Yep...it's Queen Anne's Lace. My husband and his brothers call it "Coffee flower", because they had themselves convinced that the center dark flower was a coffee ground when they were little kids.


----------



## springvalley

Queen Anne`s lace for sure, have been playing with it all my life. My mom use to get alot of these for flower bouqute`s when I was a kid. >Thanks Marc


----------



## NickieL

Queens anna lace tastes like a woody carrot, btw. the root is whiteish and not that flavorful but will do in a pinch when carrots from the garden are not handy.


----------



## Lisa in WA

We have western water hemlock all over the place here (in wet areas) and it's massive, much bigger than Queen Anne's lace.
Luckily, it's not in the horse pasture, though they probably wouldn't touch it anyway.


----------



## unregistered6474

it looks like Queen Anne's Lace to me.


----------



## Osiris

Yep....Queen Anne's. The leave on Hemlock are a dead giveaway and the flower more compact and has several branches of flowers coming out from the center. 

http://www.google.com/images?q=pois...tle&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQsAQwAA&biw=1112&bih=841


----------



## Osiris

Water Hemlock leaves are even more distinct. Queen Annes leaves look like Yarrow. Feathery - like a fern


----------

