Also called `Queen Anne`s lace,` this is the wild ancestor of our cultivated carrot. Due to this close relationship, wild carrot is of much concern in areas where carrot seed is grown since the crop could be pollinated by the weed. The flowers are white and arranged in flat topped clusters (compound umbels), often with a purple to black flower at the center. The flower clusters fold up at maturity, forming a `bird`s nest` of bur-like seeds. Beneath the umbel there are several conspicuous branched bracts which distinguish this species from some `look-alikes.`