Terrestrial invasive species

Nature

Most of these invasive plant factsheets are created from the booklet Minnesota invasive non-native terrestrial plants, an identification guide for resource managers.

Check the additional resources and herbicides table for more information.

Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota)



Description:

Appearance:Biennial herbaceous plant, 3 - 4' tall, consists of one or several hairy hollow stems, growing from one central stem, each with an umbrella-shaped flower cluster at the top. Plant smells like a carrot, it is the ancestor of the garden carrot. Appears as rosette in its first year.

Leaves: Alternate, start immediately below the flower, increasing in size down the stem. They are pinnately divided (leaflets are arranged on both sides of a common stalk).

Flowers: Compound, flat-topped umbels (small umbels within a large umbel) umbels becoming concave when mature; bloom May through October.

Seeds: Barbed small seeds, promotes dispersal by animals and wind, seeds stay viable in the soil for 1- 2 years.

Roots: Slender, woody taproot, carrot-like in smell and taste.

Ecological Threat:

  • It invades disturbed dry prairies, abandoned fields, waste places, and road sides. It is a threat to recovering grasslands and can be persistent on clay soils.
  • A native of Europe and Asia it now occurs throughout the U.S.
  • It tends to decline as native grasses and herbaceous plants become established.

Control Methods:

Mechanical

Hand-pulling or mowing in mid to late summer before seed set


Native Substitutes:

Additional Resources