Botanical Name: Daucus carota Linn. var. sativa DC.

Family: Umbelliferae; Apiaceae

 

 Introduction:

Latin name: Daucas = Latin name: carota = old generic narhe. English name: Carrot.

The carrot belongs to the family Apiaceae (formerly Umbelliferae). It is classified as Daucus carota. The cultivated variety is classified as Daucus carota variety sativa.

 Carrot, common name for a plant native to Eurasia and northern Africa and widely distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone; the name is also applied to the root of this plant. The wild variety, popularly known as Queen Anne's lace, has a tough, woody root, unsuitable for food. The cultivated variety is the popular table vegetable. It is a biennial. During the first season of its growth it forms a rosette of finely divided leaves and stores a surplus of food in its root, which thus becomes large and fleshy. First-season carrots are harvested for food. If left in the ground for a second season, a terminal bud in the center lengthens, at the expense of the food stored in the root, into a bristly branched stem 90 to 152 cm (36 to 60 in) high. This stem bears a nestlike umbel of white or pinkish flowers, the central flower of each umbelet often being purple. The fruit consists of two one-seeded nutlets, each of which has four rows of radiating spines, which cause the ripe seeds to cling to animals and thus to be dispersed to new locations.

 

Names in different Indian languages

 

English

Carrot, bee’s nest, bird’s nest, dauke

Hindi

Gajar, gajra

Kannada

Gajjari

Malayalam

Karattu

Sanskrit

Garjarah

Tamil

Gajjarakkilangu, mancalmullanki

Telugu

Gajjaragadda

Unani

Gaajar

Folk

 

 

 

 

 

Synonyms

Gaajara, Garjara, Granjana

 

Classification according to Charaka, Susrutha & Vagbhata

 

Charaka

 

Susrutha

 

Vagbhata

 

 

          
        

  

 

Varieties & adulterants - (CV – controversy, AD – adulterants) 

 

 

 


Morphology

 

It is a shrub of about 1 meter. height.

Leaves- 5 to 8 cm long and have cilia on them, flowers - white in colour. Fruits - small, white in colour and resemble the fruits of fennel.

Roots - red in colour and tapering towards the end like cow’s tail. It is an eatable.

 


Distribution & Habitat

 Cultivated

 

Chemical constituents:

 The root contains carotene, glucose, starch, pectin, malic acid, lignine, salt, albumin, terpine and a high quantity of iron. The seeds contain a yellow coloured and strong odoured oil.

 

 

Properties:

Guna: laghu, tikshna, snigdha;

Rasa: madhur, tikta;

Virya: ushna;

Vipaka:katu

Dosha : tridoshashamak

 

Karma -

Grahi, vidahi, deepana, pachana, hridya

carminative, digestive, astingent,bitter, aphrodisiac, decreases lipid cholesterol level, blood purifier, antipyretic, maintains health of retina, skin

 

Srotogamitva:

 Dosha: Pitta (shodhan), kaphagbna.

Dhatu: Rakta (cholagogue).

Mala: Purisha (bhedan).

Organs: Liver, intestine.

 

 Indication:

Arsas, raktapitta, daha, krimi, adhmanam

ulcers, wounds, fever, skin disease, cough, piles, leucorrhoea, mouth ulcers, vision problems

Part used:

  Root

 

Dosage: 

Used as vegetable

 

uses:

 

The seeds are applied in inflammation. Its powder is applied on fresh wounds. A preparation (pak) made from its roots is useful in weakness of the brain and nerves. Garjaram is appetizer, unctuous. carminative and astringent. Because of this properties. it is used in anorexia, flatulence, chronic dysentery, haemorrhoids, ascetic and other diseases caused by disorders of digestion.

Descriptions on  Ayurveda books / Nighandu:

  

Medicinal plants of India ; Ayurveda

Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants/Herbs mainly using in Ayurveda with good quality pictures and information like therapeutic usage of Medicinal Plants, cultivation, morphology, habitat, flower characters, Chemical content, parts used, research works etc.

medicinal plants