30/05/2023
Gorgeous early morning! Cow parsley is the earliest flowering member of the carrot family. Its stems are hollow and without spots - a good way to distinguish this plant from the similar, but very poisonous Hemlock. It is also called Queen Anne’s lace ( resembling the lace popular at the time.) Other names are lady's lace, fairy lace, Spanish lace, kex, kecksie, queque, Mother die, step-mother, Grandpa's pepper, hedge parsley, badman's oatmeal, wild carrot and rabbit meat! The rather dismissive English name, Cow Parsley, simply means an inferior version of real parsley. Anthriscus sylvestris 'Ravenswing' is a really pretty form of common cow parsley, bearing clusters of tiny, cream-white flowers in contrast with lacy, dark purple foliage. ... It makes a dramatic cut flower and is not as invasive so a perfect garden plant.
