Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot,[3][4]European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, carrot flower, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and is naturalised widely elsewhere.[2]Carrots cultivated as a food crop are cultivars of one of the subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.
The wild carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows to 30–100cm (1–3ft), rarely 120cm (4ft) tall,[4][5][6] and is roughly hairy, with a stiff, solid stem. The leaves are tripinnate, finely divided and lacy, and overall triangular in shape. The leaves are 5–15cm (2–6in) long,[6] bristly and alternate in a pinnate pattern that separates into thin segments. The flowers are small and dull white, clustered in flat, dense umbels. The umbels are terminal and about 8–15cm (3–6in) wide.[7][6] They may be pink in bud and may have one (rarely a few) pink, reddish or purple flower (the "ruby") in the centre of the umbel.[3] There are 7–13 bracts below the umbel; these are three-forked or pinnate, which distinguishes the plant from other white-flowered umbellifers.[4] As the seeds develop, the umbel curls up at the edges, becomes more congested, and develops a concave surface. The fruit is a small, dry, bumpy, oval and flattened carpel 2.5–4mm long, with short styles and hooked spines, as well as protective hairs surrounding them;[4][8][7] it is bicarpellate, with two mericarps. Its endosperm grows before the embryo.[9] The dried umbels can detach from the plant, and have been suggested to have tumbleweed characteristics.[10][bettersourceneeded] The function of the tiny red flower, due to anthocyanin, is to attract insects. The flowers are mainly produced from June to August,[3][4] rarely also in May or September.[7][6]
Identification
D.carota is similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock, but is readily distinguished by a mix of tripinnate leaves, fine hairs on its solid green stems and its leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and often a single red flower in the centre of the umbel.[11][12] Hemlock also differs in having purple mottling on its stems, which also lack the hairiness of the plain green wild carrot stems.[13]
Many umbels have a pink, red, or purple floret in the centre.
Rarely, there may be more than one red central flower
Fruit cluster containing oval fruit with hooked spines
Function of the dark central floret
The function of the central dark floret of D.carota has been subject to debate since Charles Darwin speculated that it is vestigial.[14] Some have suggested that it has 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.[17] One study in Portugal found that the dark florets contributed to visitation by the varied carpet beetle Anthrenus verbasci, and that higher numbers of dark florets correlated with increased visitation, whereas inflorescences without dark florets had fewer visits. Replacing the dark florets with one or more freeze-killed A.verbasci, which are similar to the florets in size and shape, produced similar results to observations of inflorescences with intact florets.[18]
The central floret is variable in intensity of colour; three plants all at the same site, with dark purple, red, and pink, florets respectively
The cultivated carrot derives from the wild carrot; both are the same species Daucus carotaL.[21]
Several subspecies of D.carota have evolved in different climates. D.carota subsp. sativus has roots that can be a wide range of colours. It has a thicker root and sweeter taste. The whorl of barbs above the spine on the vallecular ridges of the mericarp of D.carota subsp. sativus mature very well.[clarification needed]D.carota subsp. carota has consistently white roots, and, unlike D.carota subsp. sativus, has a thin root, bitter taste and are not edible. The middle umbellet of D.carota subsp. carota is not well developed (unlike in D.carota subsp. sativus) and the centre flower varies from red to deep purple.[22]
Daucus carota subsp. drepanensis(Arcang.) Heywood — western & central Mediterranean area
Daucus carota subsp. fontanesiiThell. — western Mediterranean area
Daucus carota subsp. gadecaei(Rouy & E.G.Camus) Heywood — northwestern France
Daucus carota subsp. gummifer(Syme) Hook.f. — sea carrot; Britain and Denmark south to Portugal and Spain. Restricted to coastal sites;[23] shorter, but stouter, and densely hairy, stems, fleshy leaves, and often larger, denser, more globose flowerheads.[3][24]
Daucus carota subsp. halophilus(Brot.) A.Pujadas — central and southern Portugal
Daucus carota subsp. hispanicus(Gouan) Thell. — western & central Mediterranean area
Daucus carota is native to temperate regions of Europe, northern Africa (south to Ethiopia), southwestern and eastern Asia;[2] it has also been introduced to and become naturalised in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It is commonly found in meadows, along roadsides and in unused fields. It thrives best in sun to partial shade.[7]
Toxicity
Like many other species of Apiaceae, the leaves of the wild carrot may cause phytophotodermatitis; skin contact with the foliage, especially wet foliage, can cause skin irritation in some people, so caution should be used when handling the plant.[25][26][27] It may also have a mild effect on horses.[28]
The compound falcarinol is naturally found in Daucus carota for protection against fungal diseases. Laboratory tests show the compound is toxic to mice and to the water flea Daphnia magna.[29] Normal consumption of carrots has no toxic effect in humans.[30]
Uses
Like the cultivated carrot, the wild carrot root is edible while young, but quickly becomes too woody to consume.[citation needed] The flowers are sometimes battered and fried. The leaves and seeds are also edible.[7]
The seeds and flowers have been used as a method of contraception and an abortifacient for centuries, but scientific research has not confirmed any such effects and there is no evidence of safety.[31] If used as a dyestuff, the flowers give a creamy, off-white colour.
Association with other plants
This species can be used as a companion plant to crops. Like most members of the umbellifer family, it attracts wasps to its small flowers in its native land, but where it has been introduced, it attracts very few wasps. In northeast Wisconsin, it did succeed in attracting butterflies and wasps when introduced with blueberries.[32] This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it.[33] But Iowa, Michigan, and Washington have listed it as a noxious weed,[34] and it is considered a serious pest in pastures. It persists in the soil seed bank for two to five years.[35]
Taste
Several different factors can cause the root of a carrot to have abnormal metabolites (notably 6-methoxymellin) that can cause a bitter taste in the roots. For example, carrots have a bitterer taste when grown in the presence of apples. Also, ethylene can easily produce stress, causing a bitter taste.[36]
Culture
Wild carrot has been introduced into North America by European settlers and has become common; it is often known as "Queen Anne's lace" there. Anne, Queen of Great Britain is the queen after whom the plant is reputedly named, though as a plant name it is not known before 1895, 180 years after her death.[37] It is so called because the inflorescence resembles lace, prominent in fine clothing of the day; the red flower in the centre is said to represent a droplet of blood where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace.[38]
History through artwork
The history of Daucus carota and its cultivation in different parts of the world can be traced through historical texts and artwork. Paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, for example, of maids in a market or farmers' most recent crops can provide information on carrots' history. Such paintings show that yellow or red roots were cultivated in Turkey, North Africa, and Spain. Orange roots were cultivated in 17th-century Netherlands.[39]
↑ Collett, L., Korpelainen, H., Draper Munt, D., Labokas, J., Magos Brehm, J., Tavares, M., Eliáš, P., Strajeru, S., Smekalova, T. & Bulińska, Z. 2011. Daucus carota. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T172210A6849906. Downloaded on 2 July 2021.
1 2 3 4 Blamey, Marjorie; Grey-Wilson, C. (1 January 1989). The Illustrated Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. London: Lubrecht & Cramer Limited. p.286. ISBN0-340-40170-2.
↑ Darwin, Charles. The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species. --. London: JMurray, 1877.
↑ Detto, C. "Blutenbiologische Untersuchungen, I. Uber Die Beteutung Der Insektenahnlichkeit Der Ophrysblute Nebst Bemerkungen Uber Die Mohrenblute Dei Daucus Carota". Flora, Jena 94 (1905): 287–329.
↑ Rothschild, M. "Some Observations on the Relationship between Plants, Toxic Insects and Birds". In Phytochemical Ecology, edited by J.B. Harborne, 1–12. London: Academic Press, 1972.
↑ Goulson, David; Mcguire, Kate; Munro, Emma E.; Adamson, Susan; Colliar, Louise; Park, Kirsty J.; Tinsley, Matthew C.; Gilburn, Andre S. (August 2009). "Functional significance of the dark central floret of Daucus carota (Apiaceae) L.; is it an insect mimic?". Plant Species Biology. 24 (2): 77–82. Bibcode:2009PSBio..24...77G. doi:10.1111/j.1442-1984.2009.00240.x.
↑ Linnaeus, Carolus (1753). Species Plantarum (in Latin). Vol.1. Stockholm: Laurentii Salvii. p.242.
↑ Crosby, D.G.; Aharonson, N. (January 1967). "The structure of carotatoxin, a natural toxicant from carrot". Tetrahedron. 23 (1): 465–472. doi:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)83330-5. PMID6037290.
↑ Coxon, David T.; Curtis, R.Frank; Price, Keith R.; Levett, Gordon (August 1973). "Abnormal metabolites produced by Daucus carota roots stored under conditions of stress". Phytochemistry. 12 (8): 1881–1885. Bibcode:1973PChem..12.1881C. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)91505-X.
↑ Zeven, A. C.; Brandenburg, W. A. (October 1986). "Use of paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries to study the history of domesticated plants". Economic Botany. 40 (4): 397–408. Bibcode:1986EcBot..40..397Z. doi:10.1007/BF02859650. S2CID24391862.
Bradeen, James M.; Simon, Philipp W. (2007). "Carrot". In Cole, Chittaranjan (ed.). Vegetables. Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants. Vol.5. New York, New York: Springer. pp.162–184. ISBN978-3-540-34535-0.
Clapham, A. R.; Tutin, T. G.; Warburg, E. F. (1962). Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press.
Mabey, Richard (1997). Flora Britannica. London: Chatto and Windus.
Rose, Francis (2006). The Wild Flower Key (edition revised and expanded by Clare O'Reilly). London: Frederick Warne. ISBN978-0-7232-5175-0.
Rubatsky, V.E.; Quiros, C.F.; Siman, P.W. (1999). Carrots and Related Vegetable Umbelliferae. CABI Publishing. ISBN978-0-85199-129-0.
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