[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #81: Carrot, Wild

In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.

Umbel of Daucus carota. Image by Alvesgaspar – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Carrot, Wild

Daucus carota L.

Also known as Queen Anne’s Lace

A plant of grassy places where the soil is lime-rich, or by the sea. It has feathery leaves, and a flat topped white cluster of flowers. Its root is long and pale orange. In Somerset it was known as birds nest because the outer stalks of the flower head grow upwards and inwards after flowering to protect the spiky seeds.

Cultivated carrots – descended from the Mediterranean wild carrot  D. sativus, became popular here from the Tudor period. The orange colour most commonly associated with modern carrots is due to the pigment carotene, a source of vitamin A. Carrots of this colour first arose in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. 

Wild carrot fruitlets have been widely used in folk medicine as a diuretic, while in the Highlands the mashed roots have been used as a poultice for wounds.

Daucus carota on the Digital Plant Atlas