See text Daucus is a worldwide genus of herbaceous plants of the celery family Apiaceae of which the best-known species is the cultivated carrot.

[2] Members of Daucus are distinguished within the family Apiaceae by their leaves which are 2–3 pinnatisect with narrow end sections.

[3] Some species have a small pale or white edible taproot, similar to a radish, which may or may not be bitter in taste.

[citation needed] Prolonged dry or cold weather tends to retard growth in Daucus species, but the genus as a whole is evolutionarily adaptive to these conditions.

[citation needed] Some Daucus species accumulate substantial resources in large underground taproots without impeding plant development.

The data indicate that specific isoenzyme and organelle DNA restriction fragment patterns will be useful markers for precise identification of genomes of different Daucus species.

[4] The genus comprises about 75 species,[1] including: Daucus has an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10, indicating extremely high potential to cause allergic reactions.