The Wild Carrot - Etymology :
Common name = Wild Carrot : It is present in dry soil environments. It typically lives on mountain slopes, in dry grasslands, slopes, edges of crops and fallow lands. It is considered a weed in many countries.
Botanical name = Daucus carota :
In Latin, but also in Greek, "Daucus" meant "sweet, sweet juice" and already referred to the carrot or the parsnip.
Mythology and history :
The carrot was known in Antiquity for its seeds and its leaves with the warming properties. Greek doctors recommended making decoctions of the seeds in case of a cold. The word "daucus" comes from the Greek daukos, which means "I warm up / I transmit heat".
Ancestor of the cultivated carrot, it is edible, but be careful not to confuse it with other poisonous species, such as hemlock, a poisonous and deadly plant that caused the death of Socrates. To avoid confusions and to identify it, it is enough to crumple its leaves. One will recognize then rather easily its characteristic smell of carrot. Its white, fleshy and fibrous root was consumed in the Middle Ages but its consumption decreased when the "red" carrot from Afghanistan appeared in Europe.
Botanical description :
The wild carrot is a plant of the Apiaceae family, formerly Umbelliferae. It develops a strong taproot, fibrous, white to yellow, much less thick than the cultivated carrots. Its leaves are very cut and its stem is hairy.
The flowers are small, of white color and joined together in umbel composed of several umbels. An umbel is a grouping of flowers whose peduncles are inserted at the same point on the stem. This umbel has the shape of a small umbrella. Each peduncle is subdivided into a small umbel carrying the flowers: the umbellule. In the center of the umbel stands out a purple flower, called the "carrot fly", present to attract insects.
The inflorescence closes on itself in winter in the shape of a characteristic nest. The fruits are flattened and covered with hooked silk. It is a plant of 30 to 70 cm whose bloom takes place from June to September. In addition to its properties, the wild carrot is a very good ally and activist of biodiversity. These flowers, in the middle of the summer, feed the foraging insects, the curled up inflorescences, in autumn, offer the shelter to the spiders and its leaves offer the cover to the caterpillars.
Properties & Virtues :
The wild carrot is a tonic and a regenerator of skin cells, it is the natural ally of mature skin. It has detoxifying properties by draining toxins and diuretic by participating in the elimination of water retention.
It is protective by its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant actions. The wild carrot also has an influence on the stimulation of the liver and digestion, which makes it a very good general tonic.
Composition :
The wild carrot is rich in essential oil made up mainly of carotol. The latter activates the hepato-renal purification, it is antifungal and antioxidant. The flower is composed of flavonoids (anthocyanins and quercetin) with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It also contains carotenoids and beta-carotene.
The Wild Carrot and Beauty Garden
We collect this flower in wild gathering on the commune of Auriac, in Corrèze. We glean the flowers mainly in August. The harvested flowers are distilled to obtain a wild carrot hydrolate. We also make oily macerations with this flower.
The regenerating virtues of the wild carrot can be found inorganic night serum with white flowers and the organic regenerating oil with wild carrot.
Bibliography :
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