Not all Queen Anne’s Lace flowers have the bit of red in the middle. The story is told about how one of the queens Anne — no agreement on which — pricked her finger while sewing, and a drop of blood fell on her tatting. That’s where the red spot comes from! One of my readers told me this story, I thought Linda, but I can’t find the comment…
One day this spring I saw so many variations on this phenomenon, I made a collection. Today I photographed bees and a wasp on the same flowers, but I want to post these earlier pictures instead of bees for a change. They are in the order I snapped them.
No blood was spilled in the process of assembling this album.
Gladsome Lights 
I’m sure it was me, although I can’t pinpoint it. I suspect it might have been conversation three years ago, during my first trip to Arkansas, because that was one of the first times I’d seen Queen Anne’s lace. It doesn’t grow down here.
The photos are wonderful. I like the flowers, but I also like them once they begin to fade and curl up. The structure is so interesting. I’ve never seen such pink, though. Is that another species, or just an oddity?
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I think it’s just an occasional odd bloom. The pink ones appear alongside all-white flowers on the same plant.
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That’s really interesting. I’ll sometimes see white versions of flowers that usually are pink or blue — but I’ve never seen a white one take on another color.
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Maybe it’s another manifestation of the red color that normally only shows in those few more concentrated color spots…?
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I have read that story also, of how the drop of red will often be found in the middle of the flower. It’s quite a lovely weed, isn’t it. Thanks for sharing your photos.
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This one I call “wildflower.” 🙂 But if it grew in my yard, I would pull it out when it started to look weedy!
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How I love Queen Anne’s Lace. I had never heard this story until a few years ago when I acquired two plants from the city farm’s permaculture nursery. Now, this self seeds around my garden and it’s so very pretty. Lovely photos! Meg:)
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What a neat story and what wonderful photos. They may be considered a weed, but to me they wouldn’t be. They don’t grow down here, so I’ll enjoy your flowers.
Happy Summer ~ FlowerLady
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I love Queen Anne’s Lace. Thank you for the cheery note.
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Queen Anne’s Lace reminds me of Anne of Green Gables. Aw. I miss the woods.
I like that story. It speaks of paying attention to God’s gorgeous creation.
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I love Queen Anne’s Lace (is the other name for it cow parsley?) but have never noticed a red center. We had lots of it at the other house but none here. We do have a wild patch that I would love to get it started in.
This brought to mind an old novel called Queen Anne’s Lace by Frances Parkinson Keyes, one of her earliest novels. Ever read any of them? I still have all of mine that I read in my 20s, every single novel and most of her non-fiction.
You do such a good job photographing flowers and the little ones that visit them.
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Dewena, I read here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthriscus_sylvestris that Queen Anne’s Lace and cow parsley are often confused, but they are not the same 🙂
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Well I went out and checked my wildflower weed patch that I have let grow and found a little drop of red on each white bloom and some pinkish blooms on the same plant. I do hate to prick my fingers while sewing and have stained an item or two doing so, not a queenly tale. I had neither noticed the pervasiveness of red dots nor heard this story. Perhaps it brought comfort to many a humble seamstress in days of old that even the queen had such troubles. I don’t want to say that I will remember the tale the next time I prick my finger, because I would prefer not to do so, but perchance I do stab myself, I might take comfort with the thought of countless women, over the tides of time, suffering the occasional misguided needle to accomplish their much needed sewing.
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I never see them with red in the middle, here in Ohio. They all have purple spots…
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Also, they are wonderful dried flowers for wreaths if you dry them upside down on something like a screen.
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I have never been aware of the red! We are awed continually by His creation.
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I always like to think of the red center as the garnet pin that pins the lace onto the dress. Pretty pics.
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