Daucus carota Carrot

The common Wild Carrot is Daucus carota ssp. carota  which differs from the edible vegetable carrot, Daucus carota ssp. sativa in not having swollen edible roots. It is a common, roughly-hairy, white-flowered umbellifer which grows in roadside verges, sand dunes and on waste ground and other open mosaic habitats, sometimes in extensive swards. The lower bracts beneath the inflorescence are distinctively three-forked or pinnate and the whole inflorescence develops into a concave, bird's nest-like structure at the fruiting stage. It is common in West Glamorgan, scattered throughout, but most abundant in the lowlands, particularly along the coast. Wild Carrot is an important species for invertebrates and the Bee Chafer Trichius fasciatus is one of the more striking pollinator species thar visit the umbels (see photo). The distinctive galls of the cecidomyiid fly Kiefferia pericarpiicola have been recorded on Wild Carrot at Port Eynon and in Port Talbot Docks.

Native