Carrots

The carrot (Daucus carota) most likely originated in Afghanistan as a yellow or purple root. Its earliest dispersal, possibly via the Greeks, is uncertain, but there is some evidence that colorful central Asian varieties were cultivated in the Hellenistic Mediterranean, becoming extinct after Rome’s fall. The vegetable was spread (or was reintroduced) to the Middle East, Europe, India, and China by the Arabs, starting in the eleventh century. The Dutch crossed the old Afghani varieties in the late seventeenth century, creating the brilliant orange root that is associated with most modern carrots, botanically subgrouped as D. carota sativus.