Etymology

A depiction labeled "garden" carrot from the Juliana Anicia Codex, a 6th-century AD Constantinopolitan copy
of Dioscorides' 1st-century Greek pharmacopoeia. The facing page states that "the root can be cooked and
eaten."[5]

The word is first recorded in English circa 1530 and was borrowed from Middle French carotte,
[6]
 itself from Late Latin carōta, from ancient Greek καρωτόν karōtón), originally from the Proto-Indo-
European root *ker- ('horn'), due to its horn-like shape. In Old English, carrots (typically white at the
time) were not clearly distinguished from parsnips: the two were collectively
called moru or more (from Proto-Indo-European *mork- 'edible
root', cf. German Möhre or Russian морковь (morkov)).[citation needed]
Various languages still use the same word for carrot as they do for root; e.g. Dutch wortel.[7]

History
Both written history and molecular genetic studies indicate that the domestic carrot has a single
origin in Central Asia.[2][3] Its wild ancestors probably originated in Persia (regions of which are
now Iran and Afghanistan), which remains the centre of diversity for the wild carrot Daucus carota. 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.[8][9]
When they were first cultivated, carrots were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds rather than
their roots. Carrot seeds have been found in Switzerland and Southern Germany dating back to
2000–3000 BC.[10] Some close relatives of the carrot are still grown for their leaves and seeds, such
as parsley, cilantro, coriander, fennel, anise, dill and cumin. The first mention of the root in classical
sources is from the 1st century AD;[11] the Romans ate a root vegetable called pastinaca,[12] which
may have been either the carrot or the closely related parsnip.[13][14]
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. Three different types[clarification needed] of carrots are depicted, and the
text states that "the root can be cooked and eaten". [15] Another copy of this work, Codex Neapolitanes
from late 6th or early 7th century, has basically the same illustrations but with roots in purple. [16]
The plant was introduced into Spain by the Moors in the 8th century.[17] In the 10th century, roots
from West Asia, India and Europe were purple. [18] The modern carrot originated in Afghanistan at
about this time.[11] The 11th-century Jewish scholar Simeon Seth describes both red and yellow
carrots,[19] as does the 12th-century Arab-Andalusian agriculturist, Ibn al-'Awwam.[20] Cultivated
carrots appeared in China in the 12th century,[21] and in Japan in the 16th or 17th century.[22]
There are many claims that Dutch growers created orange carrots in the 17th century to honor the
Dutch flag at the time and William of Orange.[18][23] Other authorities argue these claims lack
convincing evidence.[24] Modern carrots were described at about this time by the
English antiquary John Aubrey (1626–1697): "Carrots were first sown at Beckington in
Somersetshire. Some very old Man there [in 1668] did remember their first bringing
hither."[25] European settlers introduced the carrot to colonial America in the 17th century.[26]
Outwardly purple carrots, still orange on the inside, were sold in British stores beginning in 2002. [18]
Abutilon /əˈbjuːtɪlɒn/[2] is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae.[3] It is
distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics[4] of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
[5]
 General common names include Indian mallow[6] and velvetleaf;[7] ornamental varieties may be
known as room maple, parlor maple, or flowering maple. The genus name is an 18th-
century New Latin word[8] that came from the Arabic ’abū-ṭīlūn (‫)أبو طيلون‬,[9] the name given
by Avicenna to this or a similar genus.[10]
The type species is Abutilon theophrasti. Several species formerly placed in Abutilon, including the
cultivated species and hybrids commonly known as "flowering maples", have recently (2012, 2014)
been transferred to the new genus Callianthe.