The image, above, shows the full Wild Carrot plant (Daucuscarota), top left (whilst young in its second year). Also
shown is the whole uprooted plant (bottom left) with its edible
root. The image, top right, shows the flower (also known as Queen
Anne's Lace). The image, bottom right, shows the plant's
distinctive seeds..
| Common Name: Wild Carrot |
| Scientific Name: Daucus carota |
| Other Names: Bird's Nest, Bird's Nest Weed, Bishop's Lace, Bees Nest, Devils Plague, Garden Carrot, Bird's Nest Root, Fools Parsley, Lace Flower, Rantipole, Herbe a dinde and Queen Anne's Lace |
| Family: Apiaceae |
| Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa, China and eastern India. |
Physical Characteristics
Daucus carota is a hardy Biennial plant, growing to 60cm (2 ft) by 30cm (1 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers between June and August on the second year and seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by flies and beetles.
|
| Edible Parts: Leaves, Root, Flowers, Leaves, Seeds |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
|
 Known Hazards: Carrots, particularly the leaves and leaf sap can sauce allergic reactions in those susceptible. The sap of the plant can also induce sensitivity and dermatitis in those susceptible. Members of the Daucus genus have 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. The seeds also contain myrisitcin (a compound found in nutmeg, mace, black pepepr, celery seeds and parsley). In large quantities, myristicin is an hallucinogen that may be readily modified in the body to amphetamines. Never eat carrot leaves raw, but they are edible when cooked. Wild carrot seeds are a potential abortifacient and should not be consumed by pregnant women or those attempting to conceive.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Wild Carrot along with all the Wild Carrot containing recipes presented on this site, with 2 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Wild Carrot as a major wild food ingredient.
The Wild Carrot, Daucus carota (also known as Bird's Nest, Bird's Nest Weed, Bishop's Lace, Bees Nest, Devils Plague, Garden Carrot, Bird's Nest Root, Fools Parsley, Lace Flower, Rantipole, Herbe a dinde (because the young leaves were formerly used to fed young turkeys in France) and Queen Anne's Lace) is a species of flowering biennial plant in the Apiaceae (carrot) family that's native to temperate Europe, but which has been naturalized in North America and Australia.
As the name suggests, the wild carrot is closely related to our modern cultivated carrots. Indeed, the cultivated carrot was developed from a subspecies of wild carrot, Daucus carota subspsativus.
Dacus carotus, like many plants in the Apiaceae family is biennial in nature, and grows up to 1m tall, though it can be very variable in nature. It flowers from June to August of its second year, producing umbels that are pale pink or claret-coloured before they open and which bear masses of bright white flowers in a large, flower head measuring some 3 to 7cm in diameter and with a thicket of bracts beneath. The flowers are flat-topped when ope, but they contract and become concave (like a bird's nest) as the seeds mature and ripen. When the seeds have been set, the dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds.
The mature fruit (seeds) are covered in hooked spines. This aids their dispersal as they cling to the fur of passing animals.
As a member o the carrot family, it has a long, slender taproot and fine, lacy, leaves. When the roots are dug up and snapped in two, they smell distinctly and strongly of carrot. Formally, the plant is described as: An erect, biennial herb; leaves basal and alternate, two-pinnately divided with narrow segments; flowers small, white, in a terminal, umbrella-shaped cluster; 20 florets, often with red spot in centre; seed small, dry, ribbed, with bristly hairs. Roots smell of carrots.
Unlike the cultivated carrot, wild carrots produce lots of xylem in the root and they soon become tough and woody. As a result, only young wild carrots are of any great use in cookery. It should also be noted that the leaves of wild carrot contain furocoumarins that may cause allergic contact dermatitis from the leaves, especially when wet. Later exposure to the sun may cause mild photodermatitis. When cooked, though, the wild carrot greens are safe to eat (the same is true of cultivated carrots) and they make a palatable addition to stir-fries.
The flower umbels are edible also, as are the seeds. However, it should be noted that the seeds have, historically, been used as an abortifacient. Recent studies in mice indicate that wild carrots seeds were found to disrupt the ovum implantation process, which reinforces its reputation as a contraceptive. As a result wild carrot seeds should not be given to pregnant women and should not be consumed if you are trying to get pregnant.
In common parlance, the wild carrot is often called 'wild carrot' during it's first year, when the roots are edible, but is called 'Queen Anne's Lace' in its second year, where the flowers are edible. The plant is called Queen Anne's Lace after England's queen Anne who was an accomplished lace-maker and the flowers have a lacy appearance. It should be noted that in the second year of growth the roots of wild carrots have a woody core. The orange outer layer of flesh is edible, but even if you grate it you will not get much. However, the plant roots are still flavoursome and they can be added to stews and stocks as a flavouring agent. This is a good way of getting rid of the plant if it's a pest in your garden, as once uprooted it cannot regrow.
It should be noted that the wild carrot is similar in appearance to deadly poison hemlock and to water hemlock (however water hemlock only grows near river margins and wetlands). When picking wild carrot you must be absolutely certain that you have the correct plant. In the main, Daucus carota is distinguished by a mix of bi-pinnate and tri-pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its stems and leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in the centre of the flower head. (In comparison, poison hemlock has smooth hollow stalks with purple blotches and no hairs on its stems. It can get quite tall, sometimes up to 2.5m or higher. It produces many flower heads in a more open and branching inflorescence. In contrast, wild carrot usually has one red flower in the centre of the flower top and is usually about 90cm (3 feet) tall, or less. Poison hemlock starts growing in the spring time, producing flowers in late spring, while wild carrot produces flowers later in the summer)
The seeds of wild carrot are deliciously aromatic, and although not an exact substitute for caraway, the flavour profile flicks many of the same switches. Though the seeds can be used green, they can also be dried and stored for winter.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Wild Carrot as a major wild food ingredient.
The Wild Carrot, Daucus carota (also known as Bird's Nest, Bird's Nest Weed, Bishop's Lace, Bees Nest, Devils Plague, Garden Carrot, Bird's Nest Root, Fools Parsley, Lace Flower, Rantipole, Herbe a dinde (because the young leaves were formerly used to fed young turkeys in France) and Queen Anne's Lace) is a species of flowering biennial plant in the Apiaceae (carrot) family that's native to temperate Europe, but which has been naturalized in North America and Australia.
As the name suggests, the wild carrot is closely related to our modern cultivated carrots. Indeed, the cultivated carrot was developed from a subspecies of wild carrot, Daucus carota subsp
Dacus carotus, like many plants in the Apiaceae family is biennial in nature, and grows up to 1m tall, though it can be very variable in nature. It flowers from June to August of its second year, producing umbels that are pale pink or claret-coloured before they open and which bear masses of bright white flowers in a large, flower head measuring some 3 to 7cm in diameter and with a thicket of bracts beneath. The flowers are flat-topped when ope, but they contract and become concave (like a bird's nest) as the seeds mature and ripen. When the seeds have been set, the dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds.
The mature fruit (seeds) are covered in hooked spines. This aids their dispersal as they cling to the fur of passing animals.
As a member o the carrot family, it has a long, slender taproot and fine, lacy, leaves. When the roots are dug up and snapped in two, they smell distinctly and strongly of carrot. Formally, the plant is described as: An erect, biennial herb; leaves basal and alternate, two-pinnately divided with narrow segments; flowers small, white, in a terminal, umbrella-shaped cluster; 20 florets, often with red spot in centre; seed small, dry, ribbed, with bristly hairs. Roots smell of carrots.
Unlike the cultivated carrot, wild carrots produce lots of xylem in the root and they soon become tough and woody. As a result, only young wild carrots are of any great use in cookery. It should also be noted that the leaves of wild carrot contain furocoumarins that may cause allergic contact dermatitis from the leaves, especially when wet. Later exposure to the sun may cause mild photodermatitis. When cooked, though, the wild carrot greens are safe to eat (the same is true of cultivated carrots) and they make a palatable addition to stir-fries.
The flower umbels are edible also, as are the seeds. However, it should be noted that the seeds have, historically, been used as an abortifacient. Recent studies in mice indicate that wild carrots seeds were found to disrupt the ovum implantation process, which reinforces its reputation as a contraceptive. As a result wild carrot seeds should not be given to pregnant women and should not be consumed if you are trying to get pregnant.
In common parlance, the wild carrot is often called 'wild carrot' during it's first year, when the roots are edible, but is called 'Queen Anne's Lace' in its second year, where the flowers are edible. The plant is called Queen Anne's Lace after England's queen Anne who was an accomplished lace-maker and the flowers have a lacy appearance. It should be noted that in the second year of growth the roots of wild carrots have a woody core. The orange outer layer of flesh is edible, but even if you grate it you will not get much. However, the plant roots are still flavoursome and they can be added to stews and stocks as a flavouring agent. This is a good way of getting rid of the plant if it's a pest in your garden, as once uprooted it cannot regrow.
It should be noted that the wild carrot is similar in appearance to deadly poison hemlock and to water hemlock (however water hemlock only grows near river margins and wetlands). When picking wild carrot you must be absolutely certain that you have the correct plant. In the main, Daucus carota is distinguished by a mix of bi-pinnate and tri-pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its stems and leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in the centre of the flower head. (In comparison, poison hemlock has smooth hollow stalks with purple blotches and no hairs on its stems. It can get quite tall, sometimes up to 2.5m or higher. It produces many flower heads in a more open and branching inflorescence. In contrast, wild carrot usually has one red flower in the centre of the flower top and is usually about 90cm (3 feet) tall, or less. Poison hemlock starts growing in the spring time, producing flowers in late spring, while wild carrot produces flowers later in the summer)
The seeds of wild carrot are deliciously aromatic, and although not an exact substitute for caraway, the flavour profile flicks many of the same switches. Though the seeds can be used green, they can also be dried and stored for winter.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Wild Carrot recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 2 recipes in total:
Page 1 of 1
| Saag Dhal with Wild Carrot Greens Origin: Fusion | Wild Carrot Greens Pickle Origin: Britain |
Page 1 of 1