Queen Anne's Lace

Is it any wonder that Queen Anne's Lace was always one of my favorite flowers growing up! It was in abundance in the fields of Ohio where I wandered and played while growing up in a quiet suburb of Ohio. Last year I picked this "flower" that looked to me like Queen Anne's Lace. I drew it in my nature journal and titled it "Queen Anne's Lace".

However, it always bothered me that the "Queen Anne's Lace" in Texas was not as full as it was in Ohio! I told the girls, "In Ohio the tiny florets are much thicker and and more exquisite than this!".

Well, I just found out I was DEAD WRONG!! It is NOT Queen Anne's Lace. It is Water Hemlock and it is VERY POISONOUS!!

The girls wore it in their hair yesterday and we have picked it frequently. I finally decided to look into this and see if it is indeed "queen anne's lace". I discovered that is was NOT and Found out the Water Hemlock is the MOST deadly plant in North America!! YIKES! In the 1930's 7 kids died because they made  whistles out of the stems of it and were playing them. Even if a small part get in your mouth it can kill you.

I was flabbergasted! I immediately thought "What if one of the girls would have
held the stem in their mouth while fixing their barrette or ponytail in order to
properly fasten the "flower" in their hair!? They could have died!!


So, the moral to this story is........

Look it up!! I am crazy to have assumed that Queen Anne's Lace would look different in TX.

Living in JOY,
Adrienne

P.S. We have wild blackberries growing on the trail back their too. We did look those up last year and picked a huge bowl full and washed and ate them. This year, I have a male puppy and he pees on them and I have noticed other male dogs doing that too. I did not tell my kids yet, and my 15 year old daughter came home yesterday after picking Water Hemlock and said, "Mom, the blackberries are ripe and I ate some!!" I guess we've got another moral lesson here too! LOL