Wild carrot sightings are spiking on nature apps this week
iNaturalist Community
Phenology
That lacy white flower cluster along your roadside or trail edge, often mistaken for its poisonous lookalike hemlock, is actually the wild ancestor of your garden carrot and a magnet for tiny beneficial wasps.
Wild carrot, also called Queen Anne's Lace, is showing up everywhere on nature-tracking apps this week, with over 700 confirmed sightings. It's the wild plant that garden carrots were bred from, and its flat, white flower clusters are blooming right now, which is why so many people are noticing and photographing it. Learning to spot it also helps you tell it apart from poison hemlock, a dangerous look-alike that grows in the same spots.
Key Findings
761 research-grade observations of wild carrot were logged in a single week
The species ranks among the most-observed plants on iNaturalist this week
High observation volume coincides with peak summer bloom timing for the species
chevron_right Technical Summary
Wild carrot is having a big week on iNaturalist, with 761 research-grade sightings logged by citizen scientists across the country. Its bloom timing makes it easy to spot right now, and every logged sighting helps researchers track where this plant grows and when it flowers.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: wild carrot (Daucus carota) — 761 observations this week
wild carrot is among the most observed plant species this week with 761 research-grade observations.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, carrot flower, and Queen Anne's lace, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World with a number of regional subspecies, and is naturalised w...