continental relations

this is wild carrot. the cousin to the queen anne’s lace that i like to photograph in minnesota.  you can see the family resemblance. in fact they are both technically the same plant, daucus carota,and originally native to europe, then naturalized to the u.s.. the big difference i notice is in the color fo the seeds–in minnesota they stay quite green all summer before turning light brown in winter. matter of fact, the whole plant in minnesota is verdant green except for the white lacy flower caps. i think the plants here suffer more. it is dry, and the little rain they do get is variable, and can’t be counted on. i wonder if that contributes to the variation in color? or if the soil nutrients are poorer or just different? or simply a genetic variation for more color, like olive skin color, that helps protect from the intense sun? it seems there is always more to know.

carotte sauvage (aka queen anne’s lace)