1. Guides
  2. MVP
  3. Wilde Rüebli

Wilde Rüebli

Daucus carota

Summary 7

Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, southwest Asia and naturalized to North America and Australia. Domesticated carrots are cultivars of a subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.

Description 7

The wild carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows between 30 and 60 centimetres (1 and 2 ft) tall, roughly hairy, with a stiff solid stem. The leaves are tri-pinnate, finely divided and lacy, overall triangular in shape. The flowers are small and dull white, clustered in flat, dense umbels. They may be pink in bud and there may be a reddish flower in the centre of the umbel. The lower bracts are three-forked or pinnate, a fact 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 fruits are oval and flattened, with short styles and hooked spines. The dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds.

Similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock, D. carota is distinguished by a mix of tri-pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its solid green stems and on its leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in the centre of the umbel.

Beneficial weed 7

This beneficial weed can be used as a companion plant to crops. Like most members of the umbellifer family, it attracts wasps to its small flowers in its native land; however, where it has been introduced, it attracts only very few of such wasps. This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it.

However, the USDA has listed it as a noxious weed, and it is considered a serious pest in pastures. It persists in the soil seed bank for two to five years.

Uses 7

Like the cultivated carrot, the D. carotaroot is edible while young, but quickly becomes too woody to consume.

Extra caution should be used when collecting D. carota because it bears a close resemblance to poison hemlock. In addition, the leaves of the wild carrot can cause phytophotodermatitis, so caution should also be used when handling the plant.

If used as a dyestuff, the flowers give a creamy, off-white color.

Folk-medicine holds that an infusion of the seeds will inhibit pregnancy.

D. carota, when freshly cut, will draw or change color depending on the color of the water in which it is held. Note that this effect is only visible on the "head" or flower of the plant. Carnations also exhibit this effect. This occurrence is a popular science demonstration in primary grade school.

This beneficial weed can be used as a companion plant to crops. Like most members of the umbellifer family, it attracts wasps to its small flowers in its native land; however, where it has been introduced, it attracts only very few of such wasps. This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it.

However, the USDA has listed it as a noxious weed, and it is considered a serious pest in pastures. It persists in the soil seed bank for two to five years.

Associations 8

Foodplant / spinner
caterpillar of Cacoecimorpha pronubana spins live leaf of Daucus carota
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / feeds on
Calosirus terminatus feeds on Daucus carota

Foodplant / pathogen
Carrot Mottle virus (CMoV) infects and damages twisted leaf (petiole) of Daucus carota

Foodplant / pathogen
Carrot Red Leaf virus (CtRLV) infects and damages twisted leaf (petiole) of Daucus carota

Foodplant / sap sucker
Cavariella aegopodii sucks sap of live leaf of Daucus carota
Remarks: season: 5-summer

Foodplant / internal feeder
larva of Chamaepsila rosae feeds within live root of Daucus carota

Foodplant / pathogen
Ditylenchus dipsaci infects and damages live, swollen, split leaf base of Daucus carota

Foodplant / sap sucker
Dysaphis crataegi sucks sap of live root of Daucus carota
Remarks: season: summer

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
cleistothecium of Erysiphe heraclei parasitises live Daucus carota

Foodplant / miner
larva of Euleia heraclei mines live leaf of Daucus carota

Foodplant / saprobe
Heteropatella anamorph of Heterosphaeria patella is saprobic on dead stem of Daucus carota
Remarks: season: -9

Foodplant / open feeder
larva of Hypera pastinacae grazes on flower of Daucus carota

Foodplant / open feeder
Hypera pollux grazes on leaf of Daucus carota

Foodplant / saprobe
Itersonilia perplexans is saprobic on decayed, dead root of Daucus carota

Foodplant / pathogen
amphigenous colony of Mycocentrospora anamorph of Mycocentrospora acerina infects and damages live leaf of Daucus carota
Remarks: captive: in captivity, culture, or experimentally induced

Foodplant / parasite
underground tuber of Orobanche minor var. maritima parasitises root of Daucus carota
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / miner
larva of Phytomyza chaerophylli mines leaf of Daucus carota
Other: minor host/prey

Foodplant / pathogen
colony of Thielaviopsis dematiaceous anamorph of Thielaviopsis basicola infects and damages root of Daucus carota

Foodplant / parasite
Xanthomonas hortorum pv. carotae parasitises live leaf of Daucus carota

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Frank Mayfield, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/33397993@N05/3270239584
  2. (c) Marcela Escandell, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/buscavientos/14592885654/
  3. (c) Udo Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/coleoptera-us/8070449648/
  4. (c) wplynn, some rights reserved (CC BY-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/warrenlynn/14612829613/
  5. (c) BlueRidgeKitties, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/blueridgekitties/4845286520/
  6. (c) the weed one, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_weed_one/3961987642/
  7. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daucus_carota
  8. (c) BioImages, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22909459

More Info

iNat Map

Member of the iNaturalist Network   |   Powered by iNaturalist open source software |   Documentation for developers