
Wild carrot
Daucus carota
Finely divided leaves and compound clusters of small white flowers mark this introduced carrot-family plant. Confusion with highly poisonous hemlock makes casual identification unsafe.
- Family
- Apiaceae
- Regional status
- Introduced
- Habitat
- Open & disturbed ground
- Safety
- Lookalike risk
A closer look.
UC IPM describes a rosette stage followed by bristly flowering stems, with flowers generally appearing from May through September. Wild carrot occupies roadsides, fields, and other disturbed ground and can cross with cultivated carrot. Hairiness varies with plant part and growth stage; no single feature establishes safety.
University of California Statewide IPM Program · updated September 2025 ↗ · UC Weed Research and Information Center · DiTomaso, Kyser et al., 2013 ↗ · University of California Statewide IPM Program ↗
Compared with linked references on October 26, 2026. This is source verification, not independent expert review or an identification guarantee. Seasonal tags are approximate. Specimen maps show a selected historical subset.
Through the seasons
UC IPM gives May through September as the flowering period. Spring, summer, and autumn inclusion reflects that broad interval; local conditions vary.
Knowledge has a context.
Historical accounts are presented as attributed records, not endorsed practices, medical advice, or permission to harvest.
No reviewed historical-use account is included. Cultivated carrot and wild plants should not be treated as interchangeable in identification or use.
A record of where it was found.
UC IPM reports wild carrot across much of California apart from the Great Basin and deserts, especially in northern and coastal areas. Specimen dots show a selected historical record subset, not continuous occupancy.
Open & disturbed ground
Northern California · Central California · Southern California
Historical collections are evidence of recorded locations, not a continuous range, current presence, abundance, native status, or confirmed identification. Unmapped places are not evidence of absence.
What this map includes
From the first 256 results returned by the stored GBIF query, 20 specimens met the coordinate and reuse filters; 236 were excluded. The query matched 256 records at retrieval. This subset is not random or exhaustive.
Records are labeled California, have coordinates, and lack GBIF geospatial-issue flags. We exclude known coordinate uncertainty above 25 km and use only CC0 or CC BY 4.0 records. 16 included records do not report coordinate uncertainty. A 0.25° cell is about 28 km north to south; it does not show an exact collecting site.
Matched taxon: Daucus carota ↗.
Inspect the stored query ↗ · Download the attributed snapshot ↓
University of California Statewide IPM Program · updated September 2025 ↗ · UC Weed Research and Information Center · DiTomaso, Kyser et al., 2013 ↗ · University of California Statewide IPM Program ↗
Data publishers & selected records
Dataset citations apply to the contributing specimens. The snapshot retains record IDs, original ownership, and reuse licenses; coordinates are generalized to a quarter-degree grid.
- UTEP Plants (Arctos) ↗
Mayfield-Meyer T, Zhuang V (2026). UTEP Plants (Arctos). Version 5.117. University of Texas at El Paso Biodiversity Collections. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/yhb6ky accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
- MACF - MacFadden Herbarium, California State University Fullerton ↗
California State University, Fullerton (2026). MACF - MacFadden Herbarium, California State University Fullerton. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/1uvzxh accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
- UCSB - University of California Santa Barbara Herbarium ↗
Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (2026). UCSB - University of California Santa Barbara Herbarium. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/qpxmw0 accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
- College of Southern Nevada; Wesley E. Niles Herbarium ↗
College of Southern Nevada (2026). College of Southern Nevada; Wesley E. Niles Herbarium. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/5cr9za accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
- Intermountain Herbarium (Vasc. & Algae) ↗
Utah State University (2026). Intermountain Herbarium (Vasc. & Algae). Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/t43wjj accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
- Digitalización y Sistematización de las Colecciones Biológicas Nacionales del Instituto de Biología, UNAM (Plantas vasculares) ↗
Sánchez Cordero Dávila V, Comisión nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la biodiversidad C (2026). Digitalización y Sistematización de las Colecciones Biológicas Nacionales del Instituto de Biología, UNAM (Plantas vasculares). Comisión nacional para el conocimiento y uso de la biodiversidad. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/9uut5l accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
- CAS Botany (BOT) ↗
Magnaghi E, Fong J (2026). CAS Botany (BOT). Version 157.669. California Academy of Sciences. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/7gudyo accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-26.
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode · accessed October 26, 2026
View 20 included specimen records
- GBIF 4608158316 ↗ · 2023CAS Botany (BOT) · Batiuk, Scott · License
- GBIF 5103587687 ↗ · 2011UTEP Plants (Arctos) · Collector(s): George K. Helmkamp · License
- GBIF 1426344743 ↗ · 2010CAS Botany (BOT) · Helmkamp, George K.; Helmkamp, E. A. · License
- GBIF 1987005247 ↗ · 2010Intermountain Herbarium (Vasc. & Algae) · George K. Helmkamp; E.A. Helmkamp · Utah State University · License
- GBIF 3308116161 ↗ · 2006Digitalización y Sistematización de las Colecciones Biológicas Nacionales del Instituto de Biología, UNAM (Plantas vasculares) · G. K. Helmkamp; E. A. Helmkamp · Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) · License
- GBIF 2270252333 ↗ · 1999UCSB - University of California Santa Barbara Herbarium · Wellonen, Cher · License
- GBIF 4929747400 ↗ · 1997College of Southern Nevada; Wesley E. Niles Herbarium · G.K. Helmkamp; E.A. Helmkamp, A. Kerchner · College of Southern Nevada · License
- GBIF 5103661948 ↗ · 1997UTEP Plants (Arctos) · Collector(s): George K. Helmkamp · License
- GBIF 1426441615 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 4998182654 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 4998189776 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 4998200839 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 4998208698 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 4998214841 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 4998219899 ↗ · 1992CAS Botany (BOT) · de Nevers, Greg · License
- GBIF 1986965628 ↗ · 1990Intermountain Herbarium (Vasc. & Algae) · Leila M. Shultz · Utah State University · License
- GBIF 1426379314 ↗ · 1987CAS Botany (BOT) · Rubtzoff, Peter · License
- GBIF 4154093552 ↗ · 1978MACF - MacFadden Herbarium, California State University Fullerton · Trudy R. Ericson · License
- GBIF 2270256943 ↗ · 1961UCSB - University of California Santa Barbara Herbarium · Virginia (Ginny) A. Sager · License
- GBIF 4998218537 ↗ · 1958CAS Botany (BOT) · Thomas, John H. · License
Darker = more included records, not abundance
Boundary: US Census Bureau TIGERweb ↗ · locations generalized to 0.25° cells
Trace the record.
References are attached to specific parts of this record. A citation is a route to evidence; it is not a claim that every field has completed review.
- 01Wild Carrot — Weeds Identification Gallery ↗
University of California Statewide IPM Program · updated September 2025
Supports: Morphology, May–September flowering, disturbed habitat, and California distribution excluding the Great Basin and deserts.
- 02Wild carrot — Weed Control in Natural Areas in the Western United States ↗
UC Weed Research and Information Center · DiTomaso, Kyser et al., 2013
Supports: Eurasian and North African origin, disturbance ecology, and relationship to cultivated carrot. Management instructions are not reproduced.
- 03Poison Hemlock — Pest Notes ↗
University of California Statewide IPM Program
Supports: Toxicity, description, California habitat, and comparison with wild carrot.
- 04GBIF occurrence records & citation guidance ↗
GBIF Secretariat and contributing data publishers
Supports: Specimen occurrence snapshot. Each contributing dataset, DOI where available, record identifier, and license is retained in the downloadable map data.
- 05TIGERweb — States and Counties ↗
US Census Bureau
Supports: Generalized California state outline only; does not imply a species distribution.