Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Carrot and relatives
APIACEAE
Plants in this family are now categorized as belonging to the family Apiaceae but are still
known colloquially as umbellifers, a reference to the umbrella-shaped flower heads formed
by family members (the family's former Latin name, Umbelliferae, literally means “umbrella
carrier”). Umbellifer blossoms are composed of small symmetrically arranged umbels that
together make up the flower umbel. All umbellifers are herbaceous plants and for the most
part high in essential oils, the reason they are often used as flavoring and spices; there are,
however, many medicinal and also toxic plants in the family. Several crop plants come from
this family, the carrot being the most well known, as well as parsley, fennel, and that tasty re-
discovered root vegetable, the parsnip. There are also plenty of wild plants from this family:
Queen Anne's lace, poison parsnip, caraway, angelica, and cow parsnip.
GENERAL PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS
Practically all umbellifers that are cultivated for their
roots or bulbs are biennials, the main exception being skirret, which flowers in the first year. For certain
other members of this family, especially those grown for leaves and seeds, it is possible to harvest seed
in the first year, for example, turnip-rooted chervil. All umbellifers only rarely self-pollinate and are
highly susceptible to cross-pollination, because of which, two varieties of the same species should never
be grown close together in the same garden without some form of reliable isolation (e.g., isolation
cage). Umbellifer blossoms are visited by any number of insects, with hoverflies being the most reliable
pollinators.
Carrot family flowers attract pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Overview of the umbellifer family
