MadSci Network: Botany
Query:

Re: How can carrot benefit from having so much carotene in its root?

Date: Sat Jun 21 20:42:17 2003
Posted By: David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
Area of science: Botany
ID: 1056120372.Bt
Message:

Just because most modern cultivated carrot roots are orange does not mean that 
the plant benefits from the high levels of carotene. Apparently, orange carrots 
are only about 400 years old. Before that, cultivated carrots were purple, red, 
yellow, black, green or white. 

In the 16th century, Dutch carrot breeders developed orange carrots because 
they desired orange to honor their royalty called the House of Orange. 

References


PIGMENT POWER IN CARROT COLOR


The World Carrot Museum




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