American Wild Carrot
Daucus pusillus
Photographed western foothills of Four Peaks, Maricopa Co., Arizona. April 2009. The seeds are nearly mature, the flowers having opened some weeks ago.
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ANNUAL: Spring annual generally growing in partially shady spots and
absent in drought years. A few branching stems, mostly less than
30 cm.
LEAVES: Leaves are thrice pinnate into many narrow segments. Oil glands
emit characteristic carrot odor when crushed.
RANGE: Found from California to the East Coast of the United States
mostly along the southern tier. In wet years American Wild Carrot is fairly
widespread in the Sonoran Desert. Rocky slopes and wash banks.
FRUIT: The elyptic seeds develop two from each small flower and are
covered with short, hooked hairs. The paired seeds eventually separate and
become tiny burs often dispersed by fur, feathers or clothing.
FLOWERS: Many, small white flowers are borne in a flat-topped panicle.
UNARMED