"Natural Healing with Herbs for a Healthier You"
THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF DAUCUS CAROTA - CARROT
IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
HISTORY OF DAUCUS CAROTA - CARROT
IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS
HISTORY OF DAUCUS CAROTA - CARROT
The history of this amazing plant would have to begin with the Wild Carrot, which produces edible roots and seeds. The domestic carrot was bred from this wild plant (Harrington). Carrot is an excellent example of the effect of cultivation on a plant, while the wild carrot is small and woody; those cultivated are fleshy and succulent and grow to a much larger size. The root on the wild carrot is spindle-shaped, whitish, slender and hard, with a strong aromatic smell and a disagreeable acrid taste. While on the other hand the cultivated form is very different, from its reddish, thick flesh, pleasant odor and sweet, mucilaginous flavor. Its root also penetrates some distance into the ground, having only a few lateral rootlets.
This history seems pretty straight forward, the Wild Carrot beget the Garden Carrot, but hold on, Dr. Christopher presents a different view entirely on this evolution and he states in his book, “The School of Natural Healing” that, “ Wild carrot and garden carrot not the same species: The name “wild carrot” probably originated from the popular belief that the garden carrot, which the Dutch introduced into England during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, was derived from this wild species. The characteristic taste and smell, being similar, may have lent support to this myth. But botanists have failed to develop an edible vegetable from this wild root; and when the cultivation of the garden carrot lapses a few generations, it reverts to another ancestral type that is a species quite distinct.
With that in mind, let us proceed. Dr. Christopher’s bold, insightful and verified view does not seem to be held or explored by writers today, yet.
“The name Carrot is Celtic, and means red of color and Daucus from the Greek dais to burn, signifying its pungent and stimulating qualities. The carrot was in ancient times much valued for its medicinal properties; the Wild Carrot which is found so plentifully in Britain, both in cultivated lands and by waysides, thriving more especially by the sea, is superior, medicinally, to the cultivated kind.” Dr. Christopher also notes that, “The garden carrot is reputed to do anything medicinally that the wild carrot will do, but the wild carrot is a little stronger in its potency.”
“The name Carota for the Garden Carrot is found first in the writings of Athenaeus (A.D. 200), and in a book on cookery by Apicius Caelius (A.D. 230). It was Galen (second century A.D.) who added the name Daucus to distinguish the Carrot from the Parsnip calling it D. pastinaca, and Daucus came to be the official name in the sixteen century, and was adopted by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century.”
From the time of Dioscorides and Pliny (Roman Naturalist 23-79 A.D.) to the present day, the Carrot has been in constant use by all nations. It was long cultivated in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, being introduced by the Flemings (Dutch), who took refuge in England from Philip II of Spain, finding the soil favorable for the Carrot they began to grow it in large amounts. At that time, vegetables were scarce in England and the Carrot was welcomed and became a favorite. Its cultivation spread throughout the country, Shakespeare mentions it with affection in The Merry Wives of Windsor. During the reign of James I, it was the fashion for the ladies to use the feathery leaves in their head-dresses. They were able to accomplish this by cutting off the thick carrot top and soaking it in a saucer of warm water, and when the young delicate leaves soon began to sprout, they formed a pretty tuft of verdant green, evidently well worth the trouble.
Classification of the Carrot
Flowering Plants Division,
Dicotyledon Class,
Rose Subclass,
Parsley Order,
Apiaceae
(Umbelliferae) - Parsley Family
Daucus Carota - Carrot
Wild Carrot, Queen Anne’s Lace -
Garden Carrot, var. sativus;
domestic types: Oxheart, Chantenay, Nantes
There are considered to be worldwide, 300 genera and 3,000 species with 75 genera native to North America. The most distinctive pattern of the Parsley family is the compound umbels. You may note that all the stems of the flower cluster radiate from a single point at the end of the stalk, like an umbrella. At the end of each of these flower stems there is yet another smaller umbel.
“Although many of the plants of this family are quite edible, the family also includes some of the most deadly plants in North America. Every year people die, thinking they have discovered wild carrots or something like it. It is recommended that when you see the compound umbel, let it be your red flag to obtain positive identification of these plants.”
This history seems pretty straight forward, the Wild Carrot beget the Garden Carrot, but hold on, Dr. Christopher presents a different view entirely on this evolution and he states in his book, “The School of Natural Healing” that, “ Wild carrot and garden carrot not the same species: The name “wild carrot” probably originated from the popular belief that the garden carrot, which the Dutch introduced into England during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, was derived from this wild species. The characteristic taste and smell, being similar, may have lent support to this myth. But botanists have failed to develop an edible vegetable from this wild root; and when the cultivation of the garden carrot lapses a few generations, it reverts to another ancestral type that is a species quite distinct.
With that in mind, let us proceed. Dr. Christopher’s bold, insightful and verified view does not seem to be held or explored by writers today, yet.
“The name Carrot is Celtic, and means red of color and Daucus from the Greek dais to burn, signifying its pungent and stimulating qualities. The carrot was in ancient times much valued for its medicinal properties; the Wild Carrot which is found so plentifully in Britain, both in cultivated lands and by waysides, thriving more especially by the sea, is superior, medicinally, to the cultivated kind.” Dr. Christopher also notes that, “The garden carrot is reputed to do anything medicinally that the wild carrot will do, but the wild carrot is a little stronger in its potency.”
“The name Carota for the Garden Carrot is found first in the writings of Athenaeus (A.D. 200), and in a book on cookery by Apicius Caelius (A.D. 230). It was Galen (second century A.D.) who added the name Daucus to distinguish the Carrot from the Parsnip calling it D. pastinaca, and Daucus came to be the official name in the sixteen century, and was adopted by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century.”
From the time of Dioscorides and Pliny (Roman Naturalist 23-79 A.D.) to the present day, the Carrot has been in constant use by all nations. It was long cultivated in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, being introduced by the Flemings (Dutch), who took refuge in England from Philip II of Spain, finding the soil favorable for the Carrot they began to grow it in large amounts. At that time, vegetables were scarce in England and the Carrot was welcomed and became a favorite. Its cultivation spread throughout the country, Shakespeare mentions it with affection in The Merry Wives of Windsor. During the reign of James I, it was the fashion for the ladies to use the feathery leaves in their head-dresses. They were able to accomplish this by cutting off the thick carrot top and soaking it in a saucer of warm water, and when the young delicate leaves soon began to sprout, they formed a pretty tuft of verdant green, evidently well worth the trouble.
Classification of the Carrot
Flowering Plants Division,
Dicotyledon Class,
Rose Subclass,
Parsley Order,
Apiaceae
(Umbelliferae) - Parsley Family
Daucus Carota - Carrot
Wild Carrot, Queen Anne’s Lace -
Garden Carrot, var. sativus;
domestic types: Oxheart, Chantenay, Nantes
There are considered to be worldwide, 300 genera and 3,000 species with 75 genera native to North America. The most distinctive pattern of the Parsley family is the compound umbels. You may note that all the stems of the flower cluster radiate from a single point at the end of the stalk, like an umbrella. At the end of each of these flower stems there is yet another smaller umbel.
“Although many of the plants of this family are quite edible, the family also includes some of the most deadly plants in North America. Every year people die, thinking they have discovered wild carrots or something like it. It is recommended that when you see the compound umbel, let it be your red flag to obtain positive identification of these plants.”
CARROT
by Norma Hook
by Norma Hook