"When the flowers wither and the fruits begin to form, every one of the little umbels turns toward the center, its stalk curving over so that the outside umbels reach over and close the whole flower-head; and the thread-like bracts at the base reach up as if they, too, were in the family councils, and must do their slender duty in helping to make the fading flowers into a little, tightfisted clump."
-Handbook of Nature Study, p.543
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| In this bunch of Queen Anne's Lace we can see the small, but mature flowers, the fruit clusters beginning to form and one which has already become a "bird's nest." |
"Queen Anne's Lace is a weed which came to us from Europe and flourishes better here than on its native soil. It has beautiful blossoms set in clusters and it matures many seeds which it manages to plant successfully." -HNS, p.544
The Queen Anne's Lace flower is such a lovely composite flower, with each of the flower cluster making up many florets. If you look closely enough you can see that each tiny floret has five petals and if you get a magnifying glass, you should be able to see tiny stamens. Imagine all the seeds it must produce!
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