The Genus Daucus
Family Apiaceae
This is a small genus of herbaceous plants native to Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. One species is widely cultivated, Daucus carota, the carrot. The American wild carrot, Daucus pusilus, is native to much of the southern United States and along the Pacific coast.
The Apiaceae family is large plant family and an important family for gardeners. It includes some important food plants, including celery (Apium,) dill (Anethum,) coriander (Coriandrum,) cumin (Cuminum,) culantro (Eryngium,) fennel (Foeniculum,) parsnip (Pastinaca) and parsley (Petroselinum.)
The Apiaceae family is large plant family and an important family for gardeners. It includes some important food plants, including celery (Apium,) dill (Anethum,) coriander (Coriandrum,) cumin (Cuminum,) culantro (Eryngium,) fennel (Foeniculum,) parsnip (Pastinaca) and parsley (Petroselinum.)
Daucus carota
Daucus carota
carrot, Queen Anne's lace
This is a biennial plant that is cultivated as the familiar annual vegetable. In the parts of the Coastal Southeast, it has escaped as a weed of roadsides and disturbed areas. They are most obvious in their second year when they produce tall stalks topped with large, flattened clusters of small white flowers. In this form, the plant is known as Queen Anne's lace. Leaves are dissected into slender lobes and have a strong but distinctive carrot aroma. Cultivated plants have thick, edible taproots with colors that include white, yellow, orange, red and purple. Roots of feral Queen Anne's lace plants tend to be smaller and tougher. The plant grows best in sun in a reasonably moist, well-drained soil. The best taproots are produced in a deep, friable soil. In the warmer parts of the Coastal Southeast, carrots are cultivated as winter crops.
A wide number of cultivars of the carrot plant is available as seeds from local seed sources and from catalogs. I have seen Queen Anne's lace plants and seeds for sale in catalogs.
In my zone 9a garden, I sow seeds in fall. If the winter is not too cold, the taproots are ready to eat in spring. Occasionally, a plant will flower in its first year.
This is a biennial plant that is cultivated as the familiar annual vegetable. In the parts of the Coastal Southeast, it has escaped as a weed of roadsides and disturbed areas. They are most obvious in their second year when they produce tall stalks topped with large, flattened clusters of small white flowers. In this form, the plant is known as Queen Anne's lace. Leaves are dissected into slender lobes and have a strong but distinctive carrot aroma. Cultivated plants have thick, edible taproots with colors that include white, yellow, orange, red and purple. Roots of feral Queen Anne's lace plants tend to be smaller and tougher. The plant grows best in sun in a reasonably moist, well-drained soil. The best taproots are produced in a deep, friable soil. In the warmer parts of the Coastal Southeast, carrots are cultivated as winter crops.
A wide number of cultivars of the carrot plant is available as seeds from local seed sources and from catalogs. I have seen Queen Anne's lace plants and seeds for sale in catalogs.
In my zone 9a garden, I sow seeds in fall. If the winter is not too cold, the taproots are ready to eat in spring. Occasionally, a plant will flower in its first year.