Who is Queen Anne and why does she get a flower?

Who is Queen Anne and what's she doing on the shoulder of the road?

Why does that flower in the ditch have the blues?

Is ragweed really food of the gods?

And why did God make ragweed anyway?

Good questions! While I can't answer the latter, there are explanations in the form of folk tales and stories about these and other roadside weeds. These plants are often unappreciated, overlooked, disdained or destroyed without thought for their rich history and fabulous folklore. Botanical renegades, roadside weeds bring color, texture and beauty to waste places, fence rows and forgotten places.

The queen of weeds in mid- to late summer is, without a doubt, Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota). This lovely plant reigns over the roadsides with its creamy white blossoms and feathery leaves. A native of Europe, Queen Anne's lace established quite a reputation before it crossed the Atlantic with the early American colonists. Its namesake, Queen Anne, was the wife of James I, king of England in the late 16th century. The Queen spent much time making lace - perhaps to occupy herself while King James diverted his royal attention to his mistress. Thus the plant with the lacy flowers became known as Queen Anne's lace. What we see from afar as large circular flowers are really bouquets ("umbels" in botanical lingo). Umbels are made of smaller individual flowers. Many umbels have a single purple flower in the center which - depending on the version of the story you hear - represents a drop of blood from the Queen's needle-pricked finger.

Queen Anne's lace is also known as Wild Carrot, and it is from this wild herb that our domestic carrot was developed. If you dig up Queen Anne's lace you'll find the spindly but decidedly carrot-like roots. "It is edible when young," according to the World Carrot Museum's Web site (yes, there is such a thing!) which notes the root soon gets tough and woody due to the high content of xylem tissue. The domestic carrot is a genetic variant and does not have most of that tissue.

During its long history in Europe and North America, Queen Anne's lace has been used for a multitude of medicinal ailments. The dark purple center flower was used for epilepsy in ancient times. Folklore has it that the special center flower had significance in rituals and spells "for women to increase fertility and for men to increase sexual desire." The root, however, has a different effect. It has been used as a "morning after" drug and it purportedly increases uterine contractions during childbirth.

Queen Anne's lace is not too proud to grow in ditches and waste places throughout our area with other weeds from abroad. A beautiful blue-flowered plant called Chicory often accompanies her. Together they make a stunning combination of color and texture, transforming nondescript roads into scenic highways.

Chicory, like Queen Anne's lace, is a foreign import that arrived in North America in the 1700s. It too has edible and medicinal qualities, and it has quite a story to tell. The story begins, of course, once upon a time when a young maiden was deeply in love with a sailor who went to sea. The sailor's beloved waited by the highway for his return day after day, year after year. Her longing grew deeper as the years went by, and she paced the roadsides in anxious anticipation. Yet his ship did not return. The gods, seeing her steadfast love and devotion, took pity on her. To release her from her agony, they transformed her into the delicate flower that graces the roadsides in sailor blue. Thus, another common name for Chicory is "Blue Sailors."

Christened Cichorium intybus by the scientific community, Chicory's origins are traced to the Mediterranean region. According to the Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide published by The Ohio State University, the species name intybus is "derived from the Egyptian word for January, which was when chicory was harvested and eaten many thousands of years ago in Egypt." Over the centuries, Chicory spread throughout Europe and Asia. The leaves were widely used in Europe as a salad green. The roots were prepared in many forms - raw, cooked, dried, or ground. Today, roasted chicory roots are used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute.

Chicory is valued not only for culinary purposes, but in textile making as well. The blue flowers create a yellow dye and the leaves and stems make blue. Adding iron to the dye pot results in a forest green. A few drops of peppermint will bring a variety of green hues.

The medicinal history of Chicory is equally impressive. Pliny, the naturalist philosopher of antiquity, advocated taking a concoction of Chicory juice, rose oil and vinegar for headaches. Taken with wine (which sounds a little better than oil and vinegar!), Chicory juice ostensibly cures liver and bladder problems. Other folk remedies include Chicory roots for jaundice, ailments of the spleen, and constipation. The leaves have been dried and steeped as tea to release gallstones and to promote production of bile.

Scientists have recently examined the efficacy of Chicory in fighting malaria. Theodore Bischoff et al. published their research in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. "Folklore reports from Afghanistan before the wars described the use of aqueous root extracts of Cichorium intybus (L.) as a light-sensitive plant remedy for malaria," they report. Bischoff's research team isolated compounds from Chicory and confirmed their antimalarial properties. Steven Foster and James Duke write in Medicinal Plants and Herbs that studies conducted on root extracts in alcohol solutions support the claim that Chicory can be effective as an anti-inflammatory medicine.

Did I mention Ragweed? Ah, yes, the roadside weed that no one likes. Ragweed too has a story and it too has made its contributions to medicine. This gigantic plant grows to a monstrous 15 feet in late summer, dangling its pollen-laden flowers in the wind. The genus name Ambrosia refers to the ancient "food of the gods," but for allergy sufferers it seems like a curse of the gods. Despite its reputation as a noxious weed, Ragweed does in fact have medicinal value. Foster and Duke refer to its astringent qualities and use in stopping bleeding. Those large Ragweed leaves have been made into a tea and used to treat diarrhea, fevers, and dysentery. Ragweed tea has also been gargled as mouthwash. "American Indians used the crushed leaves on insect bites - and the root was chewed to allay fear at night," write Foster and Duke. Most significant, perhaps, is the ironic use of ragweed pollen in anti-allergen medication to fight Ragweed allergies.

All that on the side of the road! Who knew? But wait - there's more. Lots more! Every weed, every herb, every green growing thing has a gift to give and a story to tell. Before bringing out the arsenal of herbicides and firing up the weed whacker, pause to enjoy these roadside treasures in all their untamed, unkempt, and unfettered beauty.

If you'd like to learn more, join me for a botanical expedition in search of roadside weeds and wildflowers. We'll explore interior roads in forest preserves and search trailsides for flowers and seeds and all things green and growing. You'll learn to identify the common plants that grace ditches and easements and other abandoned spots. We'll discuss the rich folklore associated with these plants and discuss their role as edibles and medicinals. A morning program is offered on Tuesday, August 19 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Dick Young Forest Preserve in Batavia. An evening session will take place on Wednesday, August 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles. You may register for one or both of these programs by calling (847) 741-8350.

Valerie Blaine roams fields and forests armed with a hand lens, botanical guides and curiosity. She is the Nature Programs Manager for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County and can be reached at blainevalerie@kaneforest.com.

Impressed by Queen Anne's Lace?

Don't be fooled by royal impostors!

Many of the Queen's relatives have potent and/or toxic chemicals. The most notorious is Poison Hemlock, one of the deadliest plants on the planet. Remember Socrates? This is the herb that did him in.

Poison Hemlock does grow in the Fox Valley, and unfortunately, it can easily be mistaken for Queen Anne's Lace.

Both have lovely white flowers and finely divided leaves, but there are some key distinguishing features to help you tell the two apart. Poison Hemlock has mottled, purplish stems; the stems of Queen Anne's Lace are plain green. Poison Hemlock towers up to ten feet high while Queen Anne's Lace reaches three feet tall at best. Queen Anne's Lace has a distinct carrot-like odor; hemlock does not.

Be safe rather than sorry - or dead. Do not attempt to eat wild plants that resemble Queen Anne's Lace!

Just what is a weed?

And how do you tell a weed from a wildflower? Technically speaking, a weed is a "pioneer plant" that moves in as soon as a habitat is disturbed. Weeds are thus considered invasive. They are aggressive and quickly take root, flower, and reproduce, often repeating the entire life cycle several times in one growing season. The quintessential disturbed habitat is the suburban lawn, and the classic weed in the lawn is the dandelion. Agricultural fields are also highly disturbed habitats. Farmers fight a legion of weeds that pop up after fields are plowed - Velvet Leaf, Timothy Grass, and Ragweed, to name a few.

Most, but not all weeds are nonnative plants. Native plants are usually considered wildflowers. Native plants, however, may be aggressive and invasive, too.

Thus, there is a fine line between weeds and wildflowers and the distinctions are often blurred. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and many people find weeds to be lovely plants. A noxious weed to one person may be a treasured garden plant for another (e.g., Purple Loosestrife). A beautiful flower to the gardener may be the scourge of natural areas in the eyes of an ecologist.