Vegetables & garden · Daucus carota subsp. sativus
Discovering carrots
Puschel holds a freshly harvested carrot. Puschel“The bed hid something under the soil.”
The short answer
The thick edible part of a carrot is a storage root. It grows in the soil, with finely divided leaves above it. Carrots may be orange, yellow, white, red or purple. Orange is only one possible colour.
See the connection
Simplified drawings, not to scale. Not a guide for identifying species.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
Puschel holds a freshly harvested carrot. Puschel“The bed hid something under the soil.”
Flauschi examines the fine leaves and the orange root. They leave the neighbouring plants undisturbed in the bed.
Puschel“A discovery without a treasure map,” Puschel says. They wash the carrot together before eating it. Soil is not on today’s menu.
Discover
The thick edible part of a carrot is a storage root. It grows in the soil, with finely divided leaves above it.
Understand
Carrots may be orange, yellow, white, red or purple. Orange is only one possible colour.
Connections
Carrots are usually sown directly in their bed. Loose soil helps the root grow; stones or compacted soil can change its shape.
Little Wusel quiz
Which plant part is the thick carrot?
Show answer
A storage root, not a fruit.
Word help
- mineral
- Here, a mineral nutrient such as potassium. Plants usually absorb these nutrients dissolved in water; they are not ready-made sugar.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
Why does a carrot root become thick?
A carrot stores reserves in its swollen root. Carrots are usually biennial: leaves and a storage root grow in the first year. In the second, the plant can use reserves to grow a tall flowering stem and produce seeds. People usually harvest it in its first year.
Compare and understand
The root we eat is neither an underground seed nor a fruit. Fine side roots help absorb water and minerals. Compare a bought whole carrot with a plant photograph. In a bed, only foliage and a little of the root’s top may be visible without disturbing soil.