This plant is flourishing in our area this year, it's in fields, alongside the road, and of course in my garden. I thought, "how sweet, Queen Anne's Lace" - which is a wild carrot, Daucus carota. The wild carrot root is edible while young, but quickly becomes woody. While researching Queen Anne's Lace I quickly realized that this plant may not be what I thought, it might be Poison Hemlock, Conium. Poison Hemlock can be deadly poisonous; ingesting just a few leaves can kill a person.
The plants are hard to tell apart because the flowers look very similar. Queen Anne's Lace sometimes has a dark purple/red flower in the middle and can smell like carrots or carrot greens. Poison Hemlock is all white and has a musty smell. Poison Hemlock stems are smooth while Queen's Anne's Lace has hair. Poison Hemlock have purple spots on the lower stem, Queen's Anne's Lace stem is solid green. The seed pods of the Queen's Anne's Lace folds in and looks like a bird's nest. Poison Hemlock dries more in place and looks like the sketch below. So while I think what is in my garden is Queen Anne's Lace - I will still give it a wide berth.
Poison Hemlock, Conium