Lably
Skip to content

Daucus carota

Species of flowering plant

  • 7 min read
  • 6 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Flowering plant, Temperate climate and Gynoecium

Lab · Class 11Morphology of Flowering Plants — Animated Chapter FilmLab · Class 11Anatomy of Flowering Plants — Animated Chapter FilmLab · Class 9–11Inside a PlantLab · Class 8–12Using a Microscope

Description

The wild carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows to 30–100 cm (1–3 ft), rarely 120 cm (4 ft) tall, 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 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long, 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 8–15 cm (3–6 in) wide. 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. There are 7–13 bracts below the umbel; these are three-forked or pinnate, which distinguishes the plant from other white-flowered umbellifers. 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 2.5–4 mm long, with short styles and hooked spines, as well as protective hairs surrounding them; it is bicarpellate, with two mericarps. Its endosperm grows before the embryo. The dried umbels can detach from the plant, and have been suggested to have tumbleweed characteristics. The function of the tiny red flower, due to anthocyanin, is to attract insects. The flowers are mainly produced from June to August, rarely also in May or September.

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. Hemlock also differs in having purple mottling on its stems, which also lack the hairiness of the plain green wild carrot stems. Even more distinctive is the unpleasant smell of the crushed leaves of hemlock which is like mouse urine.

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. Some have suggested that it has the adaptive function of mimicking insects, thus either discouraging herbivory or attracting pollinators by indicating the presence of food or opportunities for mating. 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.

Sign in to keep reading

5 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Plants

Molecular phylogeneticsBranch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differencesMicrometreUnit of length; one millionth of a metrePerennialPlant that lives for more than two yearsDeciduousPlants that shed leaves seasonallyGram-negative bacteriaGroup of bacteria that do not retain the Gram stain used in bacterial differentiationLegumePlants in the family Fabaceae