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Carrot: History and iconography

Article · January 2011

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 John Stolarczyk and Jules Janick

erratic growth. The purple/red pigment based

Carrot is one of the most important root vegetable plants in the world. In its wild state it is a tiny, on anthocyanins turns brown upon cooking,
bitter root with little appeal as a food, but years of human cultivation and domestication, with and stains hands and cookware.
a helping hand from nature, has made it an extremely versatile vegetable, appearing in several The Western group evolved later and has un-
colors, shapes, and sizes. Although cultivated for over 2000 years, and originally used only as a branched, carotenoid-pigmented roots that
medicinal plant, the domestic carrot (Daucus carota var. sativus, Apiaceae or Umbelliferae) re- are yellow, orange or red, and occasionally
mains an important world crop with production expanding rapidly in Asia. Current world annual white. The strongly dissected leaves are bright
production is 27 million tonnes; the leading producing countries, China, Russia, and USA, pro- yellowish green and slightly hairy. Plants re-
duce 45% of World output (FAO, 2008). The swollen taproots are eaten both raw and cooked, in quire extended exposure to low temperatures
sweet and savoury dishes and it is known for its high beta-carotene content, which the body con- before bolting. The centre of diversity for the
verts to Vitamin A. It also forms a major ingredient in the food processing industry, a significant western carrot is the Anatolian region of Asia
constituent of cosmetic products and its image has long been used to symbolize healthy eating. Minor (Turkey) and Iran (Vavilov, 1926, 1951).
The leaves are also consumed in salads and the seeds made into a herbal tea. Orange carrots found in wild germplasm could
suggest a Turkish origin (Simon, 2000). These
orange types displaced the purple forms in Eu-
ORIGINS have been found dating from Mesolithic times, rope and the Mediterranean by the 17th cen-
approximately 10,000 years ago. Different tury through human preference and selection,
The domestic carrot is a cool season biennial forms of wild carrot, usually recognized as D. and formed the basis of modern commercial
plant that grows a rosette of leaves in the spring carota var. carota, have small spindle shaped, cultivars around the world, mainly because of
and summer while building up the stout tap- whitish, slender roots that are aromatic, and their superior taste, versatility, and nutritional
root, which stores large amounts of carbohy- acrid with a disagreeable taste. In some coun- value. Thus, the Asia Minor/Mediterranean
drates for the plant to flower in the second year. tries it is considered a weed. Wild carrot and do- basin (Turkey) and temperate Europe regions
The flowering stem grows to about 1 m tall, mesticated carrot continue to grow side by side have been considered a secondary center of ori-
with an umbel of white flowers. The roots are in the modern world. It is a popular myth that gin for carrot and the majority of modern com-
greatly enlarged and sweet with good storage domestic carrot was developed directly from mercial cultivars belong to this group.
ability. Predominantly a temperate climate plant, wild carrot, probably because of its similar odor, The yellow/orange color of western carrots is
the carrot is also cultivated in tropical and sub- leaf pattern and growth characteristics. Bota- caused by the plastid-bound pigment caroten-
tropical regions, especially at high elevations. nists have failed to develop an edible vegetable oids, carotene, and xanthophyll. White carrots
Originally wild in many parts of Europe and from the wild carrot and when the garden car- contain only traces of pigment, mainly carotene
Asia it was first domesticated in Afghanistan, rot reverts to an ancestral wild type it is quite and xanthophyll (Ladizinsky, 1998). The yellow
considered to be the primary center of diversity, distinct from the wild form. and white types probably originated by muta-
and from there spread over Europe, the Medi-
tion. Purple carrots contain anthocyanins, a
terranean, and Asia, with Turkey recognised as The Domesticated Carrot powerful antioxidant, whilst red contain lyco-
a second center of diversity. During this spread
Almost five thousand years ago, carrots were pene, good for eye health, and also found in
across the world it introgressed with local wild
first cultivated in the Iranian Plateau (Afghani- tomato (Rubatzky et al., 1999).
types, some of which have existed since pre-
historic times. stan, Pakistan, and Iran) and then in the Persian The modern carrot appears to derive from a
Empire (Brothwell and Brothwell, 1969). Color combination of mutation and selection from a
Although fossil pollen of the Apiaceae has and flavor were the primary selection criteria complex gene pool. These involve yellow rooted
been identified from the Eocene period (55 to for domestication. Root color changed signifi- eastern carrots, cultivated white-rooted deriva-
34 million years ago), the wide distribution of cantly over the domestication period. Wild car- tives of wild carrot (grown as medicinal plants
wild carrot, the absence of carrot root remains rots are white or pale yellow, while purple or since classical times), and wild unselected popu-
in archaeological excavations, and the scarcity yellow were the first colors of domesticates. The lations from Europe and the Mediterranean
of documentary evidence make it difficult to
domesticated types were divided into two sub- (Banga, 1957a, b, 1963a, b; Heywood, 1983).
determine precisely where, when, and how car-
groups: Eastern/Asiatic Group (var. altorubens) Orange carrots probably arrived from mutations
rot domestication was initiated. Cultivation of
and Western Group (var. sativus) as described by of yellow forms, and then from human selec-
carrot in ancient times is still much disputed,
Vavilov (1926, 1951). tion, commonly thought to be originated in the
mainly because the wild carrot, also known as
The Eastern/Asiatic group, the original domes- Netherlands.
Queen Anne’s Lace, inter-crosses freely with the
cultivated carrot. Seeds of wild and early do- ticates, have anthocyanin-pigmented roots,
mesticated carrot were used medicinally in the purple, pink, or orangey-yellow, that are often HISTORY AND ICONOGRAPHY
Mediterranean region before they were used as branched, with pubescent slightly dissected
a root vegetable. leaves that give the plant leaves a grey green One of the problems in unravelling the ancient
appearance. Plants are prone to early flowering. history of carrot is that there is confusion be-
The center of diversity was the Himalayan-Hindu tween parsnip and carrot (Hedrick, 1919). The
Wild Carrot Kush region (Kashmir-Afghanistan) and around distinction between the two was finally clarified
Wild carrot is indigenous to Europe, Northern Turkestan (Mackevic, 1929; Heywood, 1983). when Linnaeus published Species Plantarum
Africa, and parts of western Asia, and seeds The purple types have poor storage quality and in 1753, creating scientific nomenclature. He

• 4
called carrots Daucus carota (combining Greek Crete [Daucus creticus or Athamanta cretensis], Figure 1. Carrot or parsnip from a wall
and Latin names) and parsnips Pastinaca sativa. the next best being the produce of Achaia, and painting in a Roman tavern in Ostia
of all dry localities. It resembles fennel in ap- (Caseggiato del Termopolio), early 2nd
century CE, http://www.ostia-antica.org/
Antiquity pearance, only that its leaves are whiter, more
regio1/2/2-5.htm.
The Greeks refer to wild carrot as keras, sta- diminutive, and hairy on the surface. The stem
phylinos agrios, and daukos and early forms of is upright, and a foot in length, and the root has
carrot began to be cultivated in the last few cen- a remarkably pleasant taste and smell. This kind
turies BCE (Dalby, 2003). Carrot (karo) was first grows in stony localities with a southern aspect.
mentioned in the third century BCE by Diphilus The inferior sorts are found growing every-
of Siphnos. Theophrastus (371-287 BCE) in En- where, upon declivities for instance, and in the
quiry into Plants IX;15 states that daukon grows hedges of fields, but always in a rich soil. The
in Arcadia and is saffron colored (Hort, 1926). It leaves are like those of coriander, the stem be-
seems clear that the Greeks were aware of car- ing a cubit in length, the heads round, often
rot, wild carrot, and parsnips. three or more in number, and the root ligneous,
Wild carrot was reported as a medicinal plant in and good for nothing when dry. The seed of this
the gardens of ancient Rome, where it was used kind is like that of cumin, while that of the first
as an aphrodisiac and in some cases as part of kind bears a resemblance to millet; in all cases it
a concoction to prevent poisoning. In fact the is white, acrid, hot, and odoriferous. The seed of
root of the wild carrot was less fit to be eaten
seeds of wild carrot contain estrogen, and in the second kind has more active properties than
than the domestic one (Grant, 2000; Dalby,
some cultures are used as an effective method that of the first; for which reason it should be
2003).
of contraception. Archaeobotanists using DNA used more sparingly.
This name for the garden carrot is found first in
analysis have found Roman-made pills recov- If it is considered really desirable to recognize
the Roman writings of Athenaeus in 200, and
ered from a 130 BCE shipwreck that appear to a third variety of the daucus, there is a plant
in a book on cookery by Apicius Czclius in 230
contain carrot (Fleischer et al., 2010). of this nature very similar to the staphylinos,
in which 3 recipes specifically include carrot.
The famous herbal Peri Ylis Iatrikis (latinized as known as the ‘pastinaca erratica,’ with an ob-
One in particular draws interest as it is entitled
Materia Medica) written in Greek about 65 CE by long seed and a sweet root. Quadrupeds will
“Carotae seu pastinacae,” suggesting that it is
Pedanius Dioscorides, a Roman army physician touch none of these plants, either in winter
a recipe for carrots, with parsnip as a substitute.
from Anazabos, Cilicia (now Turkey), describes or in summer, except indeed, after abortion.
Apicius was a gourmet and always tried to in-
staphylinos, which bears umbellae of white The seed of the various kinds is used, with the
clude the best ingredients. So here he is perhaps
flowers, which are purple or red in the middle exception of that of Crete, in which case it is
suggesting that carrot is preferred to parsnip.
(Beck, 2005). This characteristic can only apply the root that is employed; this root being par-
ticularly useful for the stings of serpents. The An alphabetical recension of the Materia Medi-
to carrot as parsnip has yellow flowers. Both
proper dose is one drachma, taken in wine. It is ca of Dioscorides was illustrated in 512 (Juliana
wild [agrios] and cultivated [hemeros] forms are
administered also to cattle when stung by those Anicia Codex) for presentation to Juliana Ani-
discussed. The wild plant was thought to ward
reptiles.” (Bostock, 1855, XXV, 64). cia, the daughter of Emperor Anicius Olybrius.
off reptiles, aid in conception, act as a diuretic,
A facsimile of this herbal with commentary by
aphrodisiac, and even as an abortifacient when In speaking of the medicinal virtue he adds “the
Otto Mazel has been published (Der Wiener
used as a vaginal suppository [pessary]. The cul- cultivated form has the same as the wild kind,
Dioskurides, 1998, 1999). This most famous
tivated carrot was described as more edible but though the latter is more powerful, especially
herbal illustrates cultivated and wild carrots (Fig.
less medicinally effective. when grown in stony places.” Pliny called its
2). Figure 2A, the first clear depictions of an
Interestingly there is also a reference to daukos root pasticana gallica, “food for Gauls.” Pliny
orange carrot, is labelled Staphylinos Keras (or
called Cretan in which both the seed and root speaks of four kinds of wild carrot (daucus),
cultivated carrot) and portrays a deeply orange
draw out the menstrual period, foetus, and some of which “grow everywhere on earthy hills
straight root with rosette of leaves that looks
urine, relieve colic, allay chronic coughs, come and cross-paths having leaves like those of co-
very close to our modern carrot. Figure 2B, la-
to the aid of people bitten by poisonous spiders riander, a stem a cubit high and round heads.”
belled Staphylinos Agrios (wild carrot) shows a
when drunk with wine, and disperse swellings. Among other vegetables that Syria produces, plant in flower with slenderer orange roots. Fig-
The Cretan carrot is a related plant, Athamanta Pliny refers to one very similar to the sta- ure 2C, labelled Gingidion, shows a flowering
cretensis sometimes called candy carrot (Candie phylinos, and known to some persons as “gin- plant with an extremely fine yellow root and has
was the ancient name for Crete). Dioscorides gidion,” (wild or French carrot) only that it is been identified as Daucus gingidium. Elaphobo-
also refers to a plant he called elaphoboscon, more slender than the staphylinos and more bit- scom (parsnip) is illustrated separately.
that had umbellae with yellow flowers. No other ter, though it has just the same properties. Eaten
umbelliferous plant has yellow flowers and an either raw or boiled, it is very beneficial to the Medieval
esculent root except parsnip. The white, sweet stomach, as it entirely absorbs all humours with
In 795 King Charlemagne included carrots in
edible root is described at about three fingers which it may happen to be surcharged (Bostock,
the list of plants recommended for cultivation
long and a finger thick with stalk and is used 1855, XX, 16).
in the Frankish empire covering western and
as a vegetable when fresh. Thus, Dioscorides There is an intriguing wall painting of a food central Europe (Fox, 1933). Throughout the
clearly distinguishes carrot from parsnip. scene in the Roman tavern in Ostia (Caseggiato Dark Ages and early Middle Ages, carrots and
At about the same time, the Roman historian del Termopolio) built in the Trajanic-Hadrianic parsnips were the main starchy vegetables for
Pliny the Elder (23-79), in Historia Naturalis writ- period 98-138 (Fig. 1) that closely resembles ordinary people in Europe, as they were easy to
ten in the year 77 refers to a plant grown in carrot or parsnip. If this is so, it is the first known grow and store and a very welcome food to eat
Syria resembling a parsnip, called gallicam in depiction of one of these root vegetables from during the lean winter months. In the Geoponi-
Italy and daucon in Greece: any period. ca, a 20 volume work compiled during the 10th
“Petronius Diodotus has distinguished four Galen (2nd century CE) was the first to use the century in Constantinople for the Byzantine em-
kinds of daucus, which it would be useless here words daucus and carota to distinguish carrot peror Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, daucon
to describe, the varieties being in reality but two from parsnip (pastinaca). Galen confirms that is named among kitchen vegetables. Colored
in number. The most esteemed kind is that of carota was cultivated when he wrote that the illustrations of carrot do not appear again until
 Figure 2. Cultivated and wild carrots from the Juliana Anicia Codex of 512: (A) Staphylinos Keras, the cultivated carrot; (B) Staphylinos Agrios, the
wild carrot, but appears to be a primitive type of cultivated carrot; (C) Gingidion, the wild carrot (Daucus gingidium).

A B C

the 11th century but, as typical of early medi- roots (Fig. 3A). The script indicated that the century carrots were reported in Spain, followed
eval images, are very crude, yet nevertheless Greeks called it stafilimagriam, others called by Italy in the 13th, and France, Germany, Hol-
quite accurate (Fig. 3). it giger or eggon, the Romans called it udon- land and England by the 14th century.
Towards the end of the Dark Ages, purple, red, aulion, the Carthaginians called it siccansade, The discovery of a large quantity of what ap-
and yellow carrots were reintroduced to Europe the Calabria (Italy) called it pastinaca silvatica. pear to be processed carrot roots was found in
from Central Asia by the Arabs. Around 950, Ibn The text states: “It grows in stony places and the main market square in Krakow, Poland, in
Sayya-r al-Warra-q of Baghdad produced a cook- mounds; for women who suffer at childbirth an organic layer dated to the 14th century (Mu-
book, the most comprehensive work of its kind and are not purged. With Herba pastinaca, eller-Bienik, 2010). The exquisitely illustrated
with more than 600 recipes that included red- cooked, together with the same water in which manuscripts known as the Tacuinum Sanitatis, a
orange, yellow or white carrot (jazar) (Harvey, it was cooked, you take 30 peppercorns; mix to- medieval handbook on wellness, commissioned
1992). These were cultivated in Persia in 900, gether and give to drink; she will be purged. The by northern Italian nobility during the last dec-
Iran and northern Arabia and the Middle East, same recipe as written above also works against ades of the 14th century contains images of
in the 10th century, in Syria about the 11th cen- toothache.” Two manuscripts, Ashmole 1462 plants called pastinace but some of them are
tury, and in Europe about 1100 (Banga, 1957a, labelled Pastinaca Silvatica (Fig. 3B, a yellow/or- obviously carrot (Fig. 4).
1963a). Carrots were valued for their sugar ange root) and Ashmole 1431 labelled Pastinaca
content and sweet dishes like jam, syrups and (Fig. 3C, a darker red root), contain essentially Herbals
desserts, and became part of traditional English the same text. The advent of printing in the 15th century and
cookery during this medieval period. Arab traders and Moorish invaders brought car- the technology of the woodblock print had an
The late 11th century witnessed an intriguing rots to the Northern Mediterranean, while at enormous influence on books about plants. The
manuscript Bodlean 130, Herbal of Pseudo- the same time carrots travelled eastwards along 15th and16th centuries – the age of explora-
Apuleius, which illustrates carrot root, leaves the caravan routes and the Silk Road (Davidson, tion and the beginnings of scientific inquiry –
and flower quite accurately with yellow-orange 1999; Grigson, 1974; Dalby, 2003). By the 12th saw an unprecedented demand for the printed

Figure 3. Orange and reddish carrots from

B C
11th century manuscripts: (A) Herba pasti-
naca, Pseudo-Apuleius, Dioscorides, from
Bury St Edmonds, England. (B) Pastinaca
Silvatica, Bodlean Image Ashmole 1462;
(C) Pastinaca, Bodlean Image MS Ashmole
1431.

A
 Figure 4. Peasant digging carrots from Plantes. Gerard uses the English name carrot, Figure 7. Purple and pale yellow car-
the Tacuinum Sanitatis, Roma 4182, 1380- but in Latin calls it Pastinaca: P. sativa var. tenui- rots in Vegetable Market (1655-1665),
1400. The long, thin roots, either purple folia, the yellow carrot and P. sativa atro-rubens, Nicholaas Maes (Dutch) (Rijksmuseum,
or light yellow, intermingled in the fore- Amsterdam).
the red carrot. He distinguishes parsnips from
ground row and in the harvested pile
clearly represent carrot. The Latin text
carrots, calling the former P. latifolia sativa and
reports that pastinace stimulates sexual the latter P. latifolia sylvestris and expresses dis-
intercourse but slows down digestion, satisfaction with the name similarity. He notes
and that the purple type, ripe in winter, Daucus as a name for carrot used by Galen, but
is the best. notes that many Roman writers called it pasti-
nace or other names.

Renaissance Paintings
The villa of Agostino Chigi in Rome contains
decorations by Raphael Sanzio made between
1515 and 1517. The ceiling of the loggia of
Cupid and Psyche derived from the Metamor-
phoses (Golden Ass) of Apuleius in the 2nd
century contains festoons painted by Giovanni
Martini da Udine that illustrate 160 species of
plants. An orange carrot appears alongside a
purple root (Fig. 6). Another ceiling panel de-
picts an orange carrot alongside a white rooted
parsnip.

Figure 6. Orange and purple carrot from

the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche, figures
Figure 8. Still life with Game, Vegetables
painted by Raphael Sanzio, festoon
and Fruits of Juan Sánchez Cotán
painted by Giovanni Martini da Udine,
(Spanish), 1602, showing purple and yel-
1515-1518.
low carrot (left) and radish (Museo del
herbal by physicians, apothecaries, and wealthy
Prado, Madrid).
people who needed a source for remedies that
existed at the time. For the first time carrot root
colors were accurately described while hand-
tinted editions confirm what color was being
referred to in the text, Leonhart Fuchs in 1542
in his Historia Stirpium (On the History of Plants)
described red and yellow garden carrots and
wild carrots, but names them all Pastinaca. The
famous Flemish physician and botanist Rembert
Dodoens is best known for his herbal Cruyde-
boeck, written in old Flemish and published in
1554 (Fig. 5). It was illustrated by 715 woodcuts
of plants, including many copies from those in
the Fuchs herbal. He indicates the localities and Figure 9. Yellow carrots and parsnips from
times of flowering in the Low Countries. The The Greengrocer 1731, Willem van Mieris
work was used for several centuries as a stand- (Dutch) (Wallace Collection London).
ard reference book for physicians, and the Latin
translation was used by Gerard as a source for
his now-famous 1597 Herball,The Historie of

Figure 5. Yellow and red carrots from

Rembert Dodoens’ Cruijdeboeck, 1554.

The emergence of Dutch and Spanish paintings

depicting market and kitchen scenes in the 16th
century coincides with the period and location
that carrot was further developed in Europe.
Figures 7-9 provide examples of the colors and
shapes of carrot and parsnip roots and similar
paintings from the same era and locality were
used as evidence by Banga (1963b) to develop
his treatises on the origin and distribution of
western carrots.
The Modern Era chiefly relied on native plants; he advised the are proving popular in the farmers markets in
European carrot improvement began with ma- sufferer of asthma to “live a fortnight on boiled the US and the UK. In a quite bizarre way the
terial imported from Arab countries, consisting Carrots only, it seldom fails.” A carrot poultice is purple carrot has turned full circle and the color
of a purple type, called red by authors before also recommended for putrid wounds. originally used to dye the royal robes of ancient
1700, and a yellow type. Purple types were Carrot arrived in America with the Pilgrims in Afghans is now an essential part of the food
noted in France in the 1300s and a bit later in 1609 and soon became part of the staple diet. coloring industry.
Holland and Germany. The yellow forms were It was also adopted by the native Indians as a The natural colorant from purple carrots is used
noted in England, France and Germany in the food source. The British took the carrot to Aus- in a myriad of items such as candies, juices, and
1500s. The yellow carrot became more gener- tralia in 1788. The cheap and accessible orange fruit preparations. Many countries are now mar-
ally used than purple and it gradually spread root was constantly popular as a staple food keting “rainbow” carrots, mixed bags of red,
throughout Europe superseding the purple in throughout Victorian times. Many books and yellow, white, purple and orange carrots, and
the 16th century (Banga, 1957b). literature on household management extolled this novelty seems to be successful (Fig. 12).
By the 1700s, Holland was a leading country in the virtues of the versatile and tasty humble Modern breeding now concentrates on produc-
carrot development and Banga proposed that carrot such as Mrs Beeton’s Cookbook of 1861, ing strains with even coloring, uniform size,
“modern” orange version is directly descended the most famous and esteemed English cookery
from the Dutch-bred carrots of that time. The book of that era, bringing basic cooking advice
Figure 12. A wide range of carrots avail-
‘Horn’ carrots (named after the town of Hoorn to the masses in a form and structure that is able today (photo credit USDA).
and common in Amsterdam about 1610) were still used.
developed in Holland, and the ‘Long Orange’ World War II revived the popularity of the car-
was likely to be from selection of a yellow, pos- rot, elevating it from a mere animal feed to a
sibly crossed with an orange/red variety that major food source. The character Doctor Carrot
was unpalatable (Fig. 10). By 1763 carrots were (Fig. 11) was devised in 1941 by the UK Ministry
classed as one of four types: ‘Long Orange’ and of Food to promote carrots as a substitute for
three cultivars of Horn Carrot – ‘Late Half Long’, other more scarce vegetables in the campaign
‘Early Half Long’, and ‘Early Scarlet Horn’. The called Dig for Victory. The legend about eating
modern western orange cultivars of carrots carrots to improve night blindness has its roots
derive from these four types (Smartt and Sim- in World War II when the British government, tender flavor, and greater yield (Simon, 2000).
monds, 1976). urging people to grow and eat carrots to ease Greater resistance to bolting is another aim
food shortages, put out a story that the con- of breeders together with carrot fly resistance
Figure 10. Carrots from Vilmorin’s sumption of special high carotene carrots was
Vegetable Garden (1586). (A) Early Horn; and, increasing tolerance to heat and drought.
the reason for the success of the Royal Air Force Carotene (present in small amounts in wild car-
(B) Dutch Horn.
gunners during the blitz, as a ruse to obscure rot) has been increased by centuries of selection
A the launch of the new airborne radar system as and development but volatile oils have been de-
well as the use of red light (which helps preserve creased in this process, affecting flavor.
night vision) in aircraft instruments. Eating car-
rots does not improve your vision, but the lack Baby carrots were created in the late 1980s as a
of vitamin A can cause night blindness, and car- way of making use of carrots that are too twist-
rots are high in vitamin A. ed or knobbly for sale as full-size. These were
heavily promoted in the US in 2010 through a
Figure 11. Dr Carrot, a UK promotion in $25 million campaign to attract young people
1941 during World War II. to eat more carrots through the “Eat ‘em like
junk food” campaign. They are on sale in school
vending machines and via seasonal promotions
B such as “Scarrots” at Halloween! Some baby
types are actually young carrots planted at very
high densities and generally are more expensive
but most are “created” from pieces of larger
roots (Fig. 13).
Recent Developments
The virtues of carrot are still being expanded in
In the 1960s, carrots became more standardised the 21st century. In 2008 a “super carrot” was
as supermarkets demanded uniform size and announced containing much higher levels of cal-
shape. The supermarket boom continued into cium. Carrots have been promoted as a future
the 1970s. Pre-packaging became the order of ingredient in biofuels. A polymer derived from
the day and gave the producers more advertis-
ing and marketing opportunities with brightly
colored orange striped plastic bags, making the Figure 13. Organic baby carrots
(Grimmway image).
carrots inside look even more attractive, a prac-
tice that continues today. Breeders introduced
literally hundreds of cultivars; the most widely
favored types grown in temperate climates are
In the 18th and 19th centuries an increasing ‘Danvers’, ‘Imperator’, ‘Nantes’ and ‘Chante-
amount of horticultural literature emerged and nay’, whereas in subtropical areas ‘Kuroda’,
carrots were included in several homeopathic ‘Brasilia’ and tropical ‘Nantes’ are popular.
remedies. For instance John Wesley’s little trea- In China and Japan, however, yellow and red
tise entitled Primitive Physic; Or, an Easy and types are very popular. The purple and yellow
Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases (1761); carrot varieties are making a comeback and
carrots and other root vegetables is now used to
fabricate a racing car steering wheel and fishing
rods. The oil from carrot seeds has proved to be
Appreciation is expressed to B.C. Barker-Benfield, Philipp W. Simon, Judith Taylor, Bill Thayer, and Anna
an excellent lubricant in industrial applications. Whipkey for assistance with this manuscript. We acknowledge Bodleian Library, Imperial War Museum,
Carrot appears in a multitude of skin and hair Museo del Prado, Rijksmuseum, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew Library, Staatliche Museen, Wallace
care products. Finally, a plant compound found Collection London.
in carrots called luteolin has been shown to help
reduce age-related inflammation in the brain
and memory deficits (Johnson, 2010).
Banga, O. 1957a. Origin of the European cultivated carrot. Euphtyica 6:54-63.
Parsnip - The Cinderella of the Banga, O. 1957b. The development of the original European carrot material. Euphytica 7:64-76.
Banga, O. 1963a. Main Types of the Western Carotene Carrot and Their Origin. W.E.J. Tjeenk, Willink,
Vegetable Kingdom
Zwolle, The Netherlands.
If carrot is the Prince Charming of the root Banga, O. 1963b. Origin and distribution of the western cultivated carrot. Genetica Agraria 17:357-370.
vegetables, then parsnip is surely Cinderella, Beck, L.Y. (trans.). 2005. Dioscorides Pedanius of Anazarbus: De Materia Medica. Oolms-Weidmann,
unloved, ignored, and rejected. This sweet Hildeshem, Zurich.
and delicious root vegetable, resembling Bostock, J. 1855. The Natural History. Pliny the Elder, with Copious Notes and Illustrations. Taylor and Francis,
Red Lion Court, Fleet Street.
an overgrown ivory-skinned carrot, prob-
Brothwell, D. and Brothwell, P. 1969. Food in Antiquity. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore. p.111-112.
ably had equal and aristocratic status with Dalby, A. 2003. Food in the Ancient World from A to Z. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London and
the carrot in Greek and Roman times and its New York. p.75.
spread into Western Europe is not separately Davidson, A. 1999. Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford. p.741.
documented. Historical references to carrot Der Wiener Dioskurides. 1998, 1999. 2 vol. Akademische Druck-u Verlagsanstalt, Graz.
and parsnip are intertwined; early medieval FAO. 2008. FAOSTAT, Rome.
carrots and parsnips were both thin and Fleischer, R.M., Touwaide, A., Appetiti, E., Harbaugh, D. and Kress, J. 2010. Composition of pharmaceuticals
woody and mostly of a vaguely whitish color. from a 1st century BC/AD Roman shipwreck based on chloroplast DNA sequences. Fourth Intl. Symp. on
Biomolecular Archaeology, Copenhagen. (http://www.isba4.net/ISBA4_FINAL.pdf)
This being the case, almost everyone up to
Fox, H.M. 1933. Gardening with Herbs for Flavor and Fragrance. Macmillan, New York. (Reprinted Dover
the early modern period can perhaps be for- Publ., Inc., 1970, p.45.)
given for failing to distinguish between the Gerard(e), J. 1597. The Herball or General Historie of Plantes. John Norton, London.
two, however frustrating this may be for the Grant, M. 2000. Galen on Food and Diet (translation and notes). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London
food and agricultural historian. and New York. p.151.
In classical and medieval writings both veg- Grigson, J. 1974. World Atlas of Food. Mitchell Beazley, London. p.170.
Harvey, J.H. 1992. Garden plants of Moorish Spain: A fresh look. Garden History 20(1):71-82.
etables seem to have been sometimes called
Hedrick, U.P. 1919. Sturtevant’s Edible Plants of the World. J.B. Lyobn, Albany, N.Y. p.265.
pastinaca and without associated evidence Heywood, V.H. 1983. Relationships and evolution in the Daucus carota complex. Israel J. Bot. 32:51-65.
of color or taste, it is difficult to distinguish Hort, A.F. (trans.). 1926. Theophrastus: Enquiry into Plants. Loeb Classic Library, Cambridge, Mass.
the two. By the Middle Ages the parsnip was Johnson, 2010. Luteolin inhibits microglia and alters hippocampal-dependent spatial working memory in
a popular vegetable in Europe, particularly aged mice. J. Nutr. (http://jn.nutrition.org/content/140/10/1892.abstract)
as fleshier and tastier roots were developed, Ladizinsky, G. 1998. Plant Evolution under Domestication. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.
and often used to sweeten dishes in the ab- p.192.
sence of sugarcane not yet imported in bulk Mackevic, V.I. 1929. The carrot of Afghanistan. Bul. Appl. Bot., Genetics Plant Breed. 20:517-562.
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from the New World plantations and at a
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time when honey was a rare and expensive Rubatzky, V.E., Quiros, C.F. and Simon, P.W. 1999. Carrots and Related Vegetable Umbelliferae. CAB
luxury. Before the potato arrived in Europe, International, Wallingford. p.2-9.
parsnip was the staple starch crop. Simon, P.WW. 2000. Domestication, historical development, and modern breeding of carrot. Plant Breed.
Gerard’s 1597 Herball, speaking of its uses Rev. 19:147-190.
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nourish more than do the Turneps or the Vavilov, N.I. 1926. Centres of Origin of Cultivated Plants. Leningrad.
Carrots, and the nourishment is somewhat Vavilov, N.I. 1951. The origin, variation, immunity and breeding of cultivated plants. Chron. Bot. 13:1-366
thicker, but not faultie nor bad. There is a (translated from Russian by Starr Chester)
good and pleasant foode or bread made of Wesley, J. 1761. Primitive Physic; Or, an Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases. General Books
the rootes of Parsneps, as my friend Master LLC (2009) - Paperback - 112p. (also on Google Books, pdf)
Plat hath set foorth in his booke of experi-
ments. It is said that Marmalade made with
the roots, and a small quantity of sugar, will
John Stolarczyk is the Founder and Curator of
improve the appetite, and serve as a restora-
the on line World Carrot Museum (www.car-
tive to invalids.” rotmuseum.com) based in the UK. The mission
Although parsnip was introduced by Euro- of the virtual museum is to educate, inform
peans into North America with the carrot, it and amuse visitors through the collection,
never really sustained favor and was placed preservation, interpretation and exhibition of
in the shadow of the gorgeous carrot and objects relating to the carrot. Email: curator@
carrotmuseum.com
the more productive potato. This under-rat- Jules Janick is the James Troop Distinguished
ed vegetable needs further attention from Professor in Horticulture, Department of
the scientific community as there is a genu- Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue
ine fear that it will disappear into obscurity. John Stolarczyk Jules Janick University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. Email:
Like Cinderella it deserves a much higher janick@purdue.edu
standing amongst its peers.

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