Wild Carrot/ Daucus carota

[shepherd]

I have what looks like Wild Carrot, and the root smells like carrot. However there is no purple center flower in umbrel.

[hunter63]

DW aways says....."Save a piece, so I can show the EMT's what you ate......This time"

I have what a lot of people call wild carrot all over my driveway.....haven't done anything with it, would really like someone that KNOWS what it is to tell me.

[mountainmark]

I have what looks like Wild Carrot, and the root smells like carrot. However there is no purple center flower in umbrel.

Contrary to popular belief, there is not ALWAYS a purple flower in the center of wild carrot. As YCC pointed out, the hairs on the petioles and stem are a more reliable distinguishing characteristic. Poison hemlock has smooth petioles and stem with a white, powdery bloom covering them. These are also hollow, where as carrot is solid.

[tjwilhelm]

If I'm not mistaken, wild carrot/Queen Anne's lace is a biennial -- it has a two-year life cycle. In year one, it puts most of it's energy into building the root. In year two it takes energy from the root to build flowers and seeds. The seeds drop at the end of year two, and the cycle starts again with a new crop of plants. If you are seeing similar-looking plants around the flowering Queen Anne's Lace it's probably just the smaller, year-one plants. These are the ones to harvest! The root of the flowered, year-two plant is pretty shriveled and tough...not fun to chew or eat.

[mountainmark]

If I'm not mistaken, wild carrot/Queen Anne's lace is a biennial -- it has a two-year life cycle. In year one, it puts most of it's energy into building the root. In year two it takes energy from the root to build flowers and seeds. The seeds drop at the end of year two, and the cycle starts again with a new crop of plants. If you are seeing similar-looking plants around the flowering Queen Anne's Lace it's probably just the smaller, year-one plants. These are the ones to harvest! The root of the flowered, year-two plant is pretty shriveled and tough...not fun to chew or eat.

Your right TJ about them being biennial. By the time you see the flower, you might just as well harvest the flower and leave the root be. Even the small rosettes of the young ones have the hairs on the petioles so identifying them isn't hard. The flower has all the flavor of the carrot itself, great for soups and pickles and whatnot.