Carrot, gajar in Hindi, is the root crop of a species that also includes wild carrot, the white-flowered Queen Anne’s lace. Early cultivated carrots, from Central Asia and Afghanistan, were purple or yellow. Orange carrots were bred in the Netherlands in the 1600s. In North India the winter red desi carrot makes gajar ka halwa, while orange carrots from Ooty and the hills sell all year.
- Botanical name
- Daucus carota L.
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Tamil
- Carrot
- Hindi
- Gajar
- Parts used
- Taproot after washing
- Habit
- Carrot; the orange root is food, not a children’s raw binge of wild umbels
- Last updated
- 2026-10-27
How to recognise Carrot
It is a biennial with finely divided, feathery leaves that smell of carrot when crushed.
In its second year it sends up a branched, hairy stem with flat-topped white umbels of tiny flowers.
Wild carrot umbels often have a single dark purple floret in the centre, and branched bracts beneath.
As the seeds ripen, the umbel curls inward like a bird’s nest, and the seeds have hooked spines.
Poison hemlock looks similar but has a smooth stem with purple blotches and a foul smell.
Traditional use of Carrot
Kitchen
Grated red carrots are slow-cooked in milk with sugar, ghee and cardamom into gajar ka halwa, a North Indian winter sweet.
North Indian food practice
Kitchen
Black carrots are fermented with mustard seed and salt into kanji, a sour Punjabi drink around Holi.
Punjabi food practice
Kitchen
Carrots go into South Indian poriyal, salads, pickles and mixed vegetable dishes.
South Indian food practice
Modern notes on Carrot
Orange carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.
Red Indian carrots also contain lycopene, and black or purple carrots contain anthocyanins.
Eating very large amounts of carrots or juice can turn the skin yellow-orange, a harmless condition called carotenaemia.
Indian desi carrots are an Asiatic type that need winter cold, while European orange types grow well in hills.
Carrot safety
Never eat wild umbel plants unless you are certain of their identity, because poison hemlock and water hemlock can kill. Carrot is otherwise a safe food; whole raw carrot pieces can choke toddlers.
Ecology and sourcing
Wild carrot grows in Europe and South-west Asia and has spread as a roadside weed worldwide.
Its flat umbels feed many small insects, including bees, hoverflies and beetles.
Carrot and wild carrot cross readily, so seed growers isolate their fields.
Related plants
Also in Apiaceae
Questions about Carrot
Is Queen Anne’s lace a carrot?
Yes. It is wild carrot, the same species.
Why are Indian winter carrots red?
They are an Asiatic type coloured partly by lycopene.
Were carrots always orange?
No. Early carrots were purple or yellow.
Can carrots turn skin orange?
Yes, in very large amounts, harmlessly.
What is kanji?
A fermented black-carrot drink from Punjab.
Sources
- Daucus carota L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q30056 (Daucus carota)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.