sativus) is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, Daucus carota, native to Europe and Southwestern Asia.

World production of carrots (combined with turnips) for 2022 was 42 million tonnes, led by China producing 44% of the total.

The word is first recorded in English around 1530 and was borrowed from the Middle French carotte, itself from the Late Latin carōta, from the ancient Greek καρωτόν (karōtón), originally from the Proto-Indo-European root *ker- ('horn'), due to its horn-like shape.

[14] Both written history and molecular genetic studies indicate that the domestic carrot has a single origin in Central Asia.

A naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot was presumably bred selectively over the centuries to reduce bitterness, increase sweetness and minimise the woody core; this process produced the familiar garden vegetable.

[17] Some close relatives of the carrot are still grown for their leaves and seeds, such as parsley, coriander (cilantro), fennel, anise, dill and cumin.

[20][21] The plant is depicted and described in the Eastern Roman Juliana Anicia Codex, a 6th-century AD Constantinopolitan copy of the Greek physician Dioscorides' 1st-century pharmacopoeia of herbs and medicines, De Materia Medica.

[22] Another copy of this work, Codex Neapolitanes from the late 6th or early 7th century, has basically the same illustrations but with roots in purple.

[18] The 11th-century Jewish scholar Simeon Seth describes both red and yellow carrots,[26] as does the 12th-century Arab-Andalusian agriculturist, Ibn al-'Awwam.

[37] Fertilizer should be applied according to soil type because the crop requires low levels of nitrogen, moderate phosphate and high potash.

After sprouting, the crop is eventually thinned to a spacing of 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) and weeded to prevent competition beneath the soil.

A bacterial leaf blight caused by Xanthomonas campestris can also be destructive in warm, humid areas.

The two main forms of damage are splitting, whereby a longitudinal crack develops during growth that can be a few centimetres to the entire length of the root, and breaking, which occurs postharvest.

Factors associated with high levels of splitting include wide plant spacing, early sowing, lengthy growth durations, and genotype.

[6][7] "Eastern" (a European and American continent reference) carrots were domesticated in Persia (probably in the lands of modern-day Iran and Afghanistan within West Asia) during the 10th century, or possibly earlier.

Specimens of the Eastern carrot that survive to the present day are commonly purple or yellow, and often have branched roots.

The four general types are: Breeding programs have developed new cultivars to have dense amounts of chemically-stable acylated pigments, such as anthocyanins, which can produce different colours.

[6][7] One particular cultivar lacks the usual orange pigment due to carotene, owing its white colour to a recessive gene for tocopherol (vitamin E), but this cultivar and wild carrots do not provide nutritionally significant amounts of vitamin E.[48] Carrots can be stored for several months in the refrigerator or over winter in a cool dry place.

[52] Bitterness can be prevented by storage in well-ventilated rooms with low ethylene content (for example, without ethylene-producing fruit and vegetables).

[52] In 2022, world production of carrots (combined with turnips) was 42 million tonnes, led by China with 44% of the total.

Uzbekistan, the United States, and Russia were the only other countries producing over 1 million tonnes annually (table).

[57] Alternatively they may be chopped and boiled, fried or steamed, and cooked in soups and stews, as well as baby and pet foods.

[63][64] When used for this purpose, they are harvested young in high-density plantings, before significant root development, and typically used stir-fried, or in salads.

In a 2010 study on the prevalence of food allergies in Europe, 3.6 percent of young adults showed some degree of sensitivity to carrots.

[66] In India, carrots are used in a variety of ways, as salads or as vegetables added to spicy rice or dal dishes.

Carrots can also be cut into thin strips and added to rice, can form part of a dish of mixed roast vegetables, or can be blended with tamarind to make chutney.

[72] Very high consumption of carrots over a long period of time can result in carotenemia, a harmless yellow-orange discoloration of the skin caused by a buildup of carotenoids.

[73] Despite popular belief, the provitamin A beta-carotene from carrots does not actually help people to see in the dark unless they suffer from vitamin A deficiency.