Inland plants are daucus carota ssp carota (wild carrot), while the majority of the coastal plants are daucus carota ssp gummifer (sea carrot), differing in its fleshier leaves with blunter lobes, and umbels which, towards the fruiting stage, are flat or convex rather than concave.
Common name:
Wild carrot
Family:
Scientific name:
Daucus carota
Main flower color:
Range:
Most of England and Wales, and some coastal areas of Scotland
Height:
Up to 100 cm
Habitat:
Grassland, rocky places, roadsides; often near the coast
Flowers:
Pink in bud, otherwise white, in closely-spaced compound umbels, on top of ridged, solid, densely bristly stems. Flowers towards the edge of each umbel have larger petals than those at the centre. In the middle of the inflorescence is a single dark red flower, while a ring of forked bracts circles the base. Bracteoles are also present, and may too be branched
Leaves:
Three times pinnately divided, into relatively broad leaflets
Season:
June to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
