What is this plant with round spiky seeds that look like insects?
What is this plant with round spiky seeds that look like insects?
Country: The Netherlands
And... can I use them to make a herbal tea? They smell nice.
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Automatic identification via PlantNet summary
Most likely match: Daucus carota L.
Common name Scientific name Likeliness Queen Anne s lace Daucus carota 50.32 % Queen Anne’s snowflake Daucus muricatus 14.36 % Rattlesnake-weed Daucus pusillus 8.85 % Hartwort Tordylium maximum 5.80 % Queen Anne s Lace (actual commom name) Rouya polygama 4.58 % Beep, boop
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From Wikipedia:
The function of the central dark florets of D. carota has been subject to debate since Charles Darwin speculated that they are a vestigial trait.[14] It has been suggested that they have the adaptive function of mimicking insects, thus either discouraging herbivory,[15] or attracting pollinators[16] by indicating the presence of food or opportunities for mating
Alright - so it's not only me who thinks that they look like spiky insects 😄
Well, the spiky insects in the photo are the seeds. They are spiky so that they could easily hook onto animal fur and be carried to new places. The Wiki article talks about flowers – this is what they mean, it's really cool:
Ah! Yeah, I failed at reading comprehension here.
I don't see the image you posted, but I looked up "D. carota dark central florets" and I found some images. Cool! I will pay attention to this next time I find them.