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Daucus carota
| Common name: |
Wild Carrot |
Family: |
Umbelliferae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
Carrots sometimes cause allergic reactions in some people[46]. Skin contact with the sap is said to cause photo-sensitivity and/or dermatitis in some people[218].
Daucus has been reported to contain acetone, asarone, choline, ethanol, formic acid, HCN, isobutyric acid, limonene, malic acid, maltose, oxalic acid, palmitic acid, pyrrolidine, and quinic acid. Reviewing research on myristicin, which occurs in nutmeg, mace, black pepper, carrot seed, celery seed, and parsley, Buchanan (J. Food Safety 1: 275, 1979) noted that the psychoactive and hallucinogenic properties of mace, nutmeg, and purified myristicin have been studied. It has been hypothesized that myristicin and elemicin can be readily modified in the body to amphetamines. Handling carrot foliage, especially wet foliage, can cause irritation and vesication. Sensitized photosensitive persons may get an exact reproduction of the leaf on the skin by placing the leaf on the skin for awhile, followed by exposure to sunshine[269]. |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa, China and eastern India. |
| Habitat: |
Cultivated and waste land, amongst grass, especially by the sea and on chalk[4, 17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| D. gingidium[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Bees' Nest [H], Bird's Nest [H], Carot [E], Carotte [E], Carrot [E,H], Djane Racene [E], Gaizar [E], Havuc [E], Hawuch [E], Hu Lo Po [E], Huang Lo Po [E], Hung Lo Po [E], Jezar [E], Mohrrube [E], Peen [D], Philtron [H], Queen Anne's Lace [S,P,H], Queen Anne's-lace [B], Wild Carrot [L,S,H], Yarkuki [E], Zanahoria [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
carota = carrot
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Belgium
Britain Chile China Dominican Republic Europe Germany Haiti Iraq Kurdistan Mexico Spain Turkey Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Ca) Ussr
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Washington, South Australia. |
Physical Characteristics
Biennial growing to 0.6m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies and beetles.
The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires moist soil.
The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Meadow, Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Coffee
Condiment Flowers Root.
Root - cooked[55]. Thin and stringy[K].
The flower clusters can be french-fried to produce a carrot-flavoured
gourmet's delight[183].
The aromatic seed is used as a flavouring in stews etc[55, 183].
The dried roasted roots are ground into a powder and are used for making
coffee[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anthelmintic
Carminative Contraceptive Deobstruent Diuretic Emmenagogue Galactogogue Ophthalmic Stimulant.
The wild carrot is an aromatic herb that acts as a diuretic, soothes
the digestive tract and stimulates the uterus[238]. A wonderfully cleansing
medicine, it supports the liver, stimulates the flow of urine and the removal
of waste by the kidneys[254].
The whole plant is anthelmintic, carminative, deobstruent, diuretic,
galactogogue, ophthalmic, stimulant[4, 7, 9, 13, 21, 165]. An infusion is
used in the treatment of various complaints including digestive disorders,
kidney and bladder diseases and in the treatment of dropsy[4, 238]. An
infusion of the leaves has been used to counter cystitis and kidney stone
formation, and to diminish stones that have already formed[254]. Carrot
leaves contain significant amounts of porphyrins, which stimulate the
pituitary gland and lead to the release of increased levels of sex
hormones[254]. The plant is harvested in July and dried for later use.
A warm water infusion of the flowers has been used in the treatment of
diabetes[213].
The grated raw root, especially of the cultivated forms, is used as a remedy
for threadworms[213, 222, 254]. The root is also used to encourage delayed
menstruation[213]. The root of the wild plant can induce uterine contractions
and so should not be used by pregnant women[213]. A tea made from the roots
is diuretic and has been used in the treatment of urinary stones[222].
The seeds are diuretic[213, 218], carminative, emmenagogue and
anthelmintic[4, 218]. An infusion is used in the treatment of oedema,
flatulent indigestion and menstrual problems[238]. The seed is a traditional
'morning after' contraceptive and there is some evidence to uphold this
belief. It requires further investigation[222]. Carrot seeds can be
abortifacient and so should not be used by pregnant women[254]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Cosmetic
Essential.
An essential oil obtained from the seed has an orris-like scent[238].
It is used in perfumery and as a food flavouring[46, 238]. The oil has also
been used cosmetically in anti-wrinkle creams[238].
Cultivation details
Prefers a sunny position and a well-drained neutral to alkaline
soil[24, 238].
A good plant for the summer meadow[24], it is a food plant for caterpillars
of the Swallow-tail Butterfly[200].
This species is the parent of the cultivated carrot[200]. It can act as an
alternative host for pests and diseases of the cultivated carrots.
The plant has become a pest weed in N. America, where it is spreading
rapidly and crowding out native vegetation[274].
The whole plant, when bruised, gives off an aniseed-like scent[245].
Propagation
Seed - sow August/September or April in situ. The seed germinates
better if it is given a period of cold stratification.
Scent
-
Plant: Crushed
- The whole plant, when bruised, gives off an aniseed-like scent.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Latin and Worldwide Common Names
From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000
Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for daucus carota (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden.
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
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Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Daucus+carota
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