How delightful it is when country lanes across the country explode with the frothy white flowers. It's definitely one of my favourite scenes at this time of year!
Cow parsley is also knows as Queen Anne's Lace - some say this is because Queen Anne travelled the country one May and people said the roadsides has been decorated for her, others say the plant was named this because the flowers resembled the lace pillows carried by Queen Anne's ladies. It goes by a long list of other names too including hedge parsley, Devil's parsley, mother die and dog's flourish. I believe the term cow parsley indicates that this is not as good as real parsley, but the leaves are edible, though apparently quite bitter tasting.
It is thought that the diet of the Celts included cow parsley following analysis of Lindow Man, the Celtic man found well preserved in a Cheshire peat bog. Cow parsley can easily be confused with hogweed and hemlock, amongst other plants, so it's probably better not to sample it unless you are sure that it is cow parsley!
There's an old tale that used to be told to children that said if they picked cow parsley, their mother would die (hence the name 'mother die'). There was also a superstition that if cow parsley was brought indoors, someone would die.
The hollow stems of cow parsley were used by children in the past to make pea shooters (though I read a comment about this that suggested lentils work better than peas!).
Cow parsley also had medicinal uses long ago and is said to help alleviate stomach problems, kidney problems, colds, breathing difficulties.
It's also an important plant for a variety of insect life - how many flies, bees and hoverflies do you see on just one flower head in the summer? I know I always see loads!
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