Carrot, Wild

Information on Wild Carrot

Common Name: Wild Carrot
Scientific Name: Daucus carota
Irish Name: Mealbhacán
Family Group: Apiaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Wild Carrot could sometimes be confused with:

Water-dropwort, Hemlock, Parsley, Cow, Hogweed, Hemlock, Angelica, Wild,

Along our country lanes and roads, from June to September, this tall (1m), hairy annualo or biennial plant brightens up the hedgerows with its lovely feathery leaves and umbels of flowers.  Also known as Queen Anne's Lace on account of the delicacy of the little individual flowers and the feathery divided bracts which surround them.  The creamy-white flowers (2-3mm across) are held in broad, flat umbels and the central flower of the umbel is sometimes pink or red. The petals of each little flower are unequal.  The bracts surrounding the umbel are 3-lobed and showy and they curve upwards, shaping all of the umbel into a cup-like shape when they are in fruit. The leaves are finely cut, bi- or tri-pinnately divided with narrow leaflets.  This is a native plant belonging to the family Apiaceae. 

My first record of this plant is in Co Cavan in 1984 and I took the photographs in Gibletstown, Co Wexford in 2008. 

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

This wildflower is also known as 'Bird's nest' because of its shape when in fruit. Handling the leaves of this plant can cause a degree of discomfort to the skin.

Carrot, Wild
Carrot, Wild
Carrot, Wild
Carrot, Wild