Queen Anne’s Lace is a very special flower, comprised of many tiny, individual flowers in an umbrella-shaped “umbel”. At the center, one or more of the flowers may be red or purple (or there may be no colorful center flower at all).
Rather than unfurling as it ages, however, the flower furls, becoming what’s sometimes called a “bird’s nest”. When I look at it, it reminds me of a sea anemone, which withdraws when touched (don’t try this – it may harm the animal and/or you).
The bird’s nest is quite lovely, with the individual clusters of flowers (“umbelets”) at the edges bowing toward the center. The tiny flowers, pollinated by insects (or not), become seeds that are clasped within the “nest”. See remarkable close-ups of the flower’s structure here.
Later, the seeds will fall to the ground, to germinate and grow into new Queen Anne’s Lace plants next spring and summer.
Perhaps, after some time spent nurturing and protecting them, the flower can let its children go into the world with the hope that they will grow into the same kind of intricate blooms, bringing nourishment for pollinators and pulchritude for viewers.
I have white and chocolate Queen Anne’s lace around parts of the lake. I love this plant.
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Me, too! We just have the white variety here. Does the chocolate grow wild there?