Daucus pusillus – American Wild Carrot

Daucus pusillus - American Wild Carrot, Rattlesnakeweed, Rattlesnake-weed, Southwestern Carrot, Seedticks

Daucus pusillus - American Wild Carrot, Rattlesnakeweed, Rattlesnake-weed, Southwestern Carrot, Seedticks

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Daucus pusillus

Common Names: American Wild Carrot, Rattlesnakeweed, Rattlesnake-weed, Southwestern Carrot, Seedticks

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert

Flower Color: White

Flowering Season: Spring

Height: To 28 inches (71 cm) tall

Description: The tiny flowers are in lacy, flat-topped umbels. As they age, the flower umbels fold up into cups and then dry to a brownish color. The individual flowers are uniformly white and have 5 petals. The leaves are pinnately dissected with linear leaf segments, are often densely covered in bristly hairs, and when crushed, smell like carrot leaves. The stems are slender and usually unbranched. The plants have an enlarged taproot.

Special Characteristics

Edible – The roots are edible either raw or cooked.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae – Carrot family
Genus: Daucus L. – wild carrot
Species: Daucus pusillus Michx. – American wild carrot

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map