S90 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



called umbrelliferae because, 

 he averred, they have um- 

 brella blossoms. In the case 

 of Queen Anne's lace the 

 flower-cluster, or umbel, is 

 made up of many smaller 

 umbels, each a most perfect 

 flower-cluster in itself. Each 

 tiny white floret has five 

 petals and should have five 

 stamens with creamy anthers, 

 but often has only two. 

 However, it has always at its 

 center two fat little pistils set 

 snugly together, and it rests 

 in a solid, bristly, green, cup- 

 like calyx. Twenty or thirty 

 of these little blossoms are set 

 in a rosette, the stems of 

 graded length ; and where the 

 bases of the stems meet are 

 some long, pointed, narrow 

 bracts, which protectingly 

 brood the flowers in the bud 

 and the seeds as they ripen. 

 Each of these little flower- 

 clusters, or umbels, has a long 

 stem, its length being just fit 

 to bring it to its right place in 

 the medallion pattern of this 

 royal lace. And these stems 

 also have set at their bases 

 some bracts with long, thread- 

 like lobes, which make a deli- 

 cate, green background for 

 the opening blossoms; these 

 bracts curl up protectingly 

 about the buds and the seeds. 

 If we look straight into the 

 large flower-cluster, we can 

 see that each component clus- 

 ter, or umbelicel, seems to 

 have its own share in making 

 the larger pattern; the out- 

 side blossoms of the outside 

 clusters have the outside 

 petals larger, thus forming a 

 beautiful border and calling 

 to mind the beautiful flowers of the Composites. At the very center of 

 this flower medallion, there is often a larger floret with delicate wine- 

 colored petals ; this striking floret is not a part of a smaller flower-cluster, 

 but stands in stately solitude upon its own isolated stem. The reason 



Queen Anne's lace, or wild carrot 

 Photo by Vcrne Morton. 



