Plant Anatomy 101: Carrots

I came across some interesting information about carrots over the weekend that I wanted to explore a little further. This post has more to do with the history of the carrot rather than its anatomy, but we'll go over the basics first:

The part that we traditionally eat of the carrot is the plant's taproot. A taproot is usually a long, somewhat tapering root that grows vertically downward. From the taproot, other small roots grow out horizontally. Taproots are used by the plant for storing sugars (which plays a large role in why carrots are so sweet). This allows the plant to survive through the winter, as the carrot is a biennial plant. For the first spring and summer, the carrot will grow some leaves, but is mostly using its energy for developing a strong taproot in which to store sugars. The carrot lives dormant throughout the winter and then in the following growing season will sprout a flowering stem that grows white flowers. Other common plants that have taproots are dandelions, radishes, parsnips, and turnips.

Carrots have been around in human history for thousands of years. It is thought that the wild ancestors of carrots originated in Afghanistan, but then were brought to other regions through trade. The carrots have been found in the tombs of Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs (thought by historians to be purple varieties) and were probably thought of as an aphrodisiac. Wild carrot roots had a very woody texture and a bitter taste and therefore weren't eaten until about the 16th century when the Romans ate both cooked and raw carrots. These were not the sweet orange carrots we are familiar with today. Before that, the leaves and stems were used by the Greeks for medicinal purposes. In the 13th century carrots started being cultivated in Europe, again as a medicinal plant. Carrots were more known back then for their aromatic seeds and leaves. Today, we still grow carrots for some of these aromatic purposes like parsley, fennel, dill, and cumin.

In the wild, carrots come in a variety of colors from white and yellow to purple and black, but ironically, not orange! By the 16th century, carrots were a well known plant in Europe. In France, carrots traditionally came in red and purple and in England there were red and yellow varieties. It wasn't until the 17th century that orange carrots appeared. The Dutch crossbred red carrots with yellow carrots to make orange carrots for the royal family and The House of Orange. After that, orange carrots gained popularity quickly and were further developed to be the sweet, crunchy vegetable we know and love today.

Credits:

History
Wild Carrots photo
Flowering Carrot photo
Colorful Carrots photo