Wild caraway
Carum carvi L.
Keys to Identification
First year rosettes can be identified by their carrot-like leaves and slender tuber.- Mature plants have hollow stems, and produce small, white or pink flowers in umbrella-like clusters
This information courtesy of the Colorado Natural Areas Program
Family: Apiaceae (Parsley)
Other Names: none widely accepted
USDA Code: CACA19
Legal Status: Colorado Noxious Weed List B
Identification
Growth form: biennial, or sometimes perennial forb
Flower: Flowers are small, white or pinkish, and occur in terminal or lateral loose clusters.
Seeds/Fruit: Seeds are narrow, oblong, brown, and have five distinct tan, linear, ribs.
Leaves: Shoot leaves are alternate and normally oblong or oval in shape. Stem leaves resemble those of carrots in shape but tend to droop more.
Stems: Mature plants are 1-3 feet tall and have one or more shoots emerging from a single taproot. Shoots are slender, erect, branching, and normally hollow.
Roots: Taproot.
Seedling: no information available
Other: Fruits have distinctive caraway odor.
Similar Species
Exotics: Somewhat similar to poison hemlock (Conium maculata), but lacks spotted stems.
Natives: Other members of the Parsley family are similar in overall appearance. Be sure to note root and fruit characteristics, flower color and foliage odor for successful keying.
Impacts
Agricultural: Can be a pest in hay meadows.
Ecological: Wild caraway can invade disturbed areas and push out native vegetation. It is a prolific seed producer and can spread rapidly.
Human: no information available .
Habitat and Distribution
General requirements: Wild caraway is commonly found in mountain meadows, hayfields, and along irrigation ditches and roadsides. It prefers full sun and well drained soils.
Distribution: Widely naturalized in the northern United States and Canada. It is found from 5000-9500 feet in the western half of Colorado, except in the extreme western part of the state (Rutledge and McLendon 1998).
Historical: Wild caraway was introduced into the U.S. as a cultivated species (Whitson et al. 1996), but escaped and is now widespread throughout the country. The seeds are used as medicine and the leaves are sometimes used in salads and soups (GardenGuides 1999).
Biology/Ecology
Life cycle: Wild caraway spends the first year as a leafy rosette. The second year the plant bolts and flowers. The stems of the delicate flowers produce seed cases, each containing two seeds (GardenGuides 1999).
Mode of reproduction: Reproduces by seeds.
Seed production: Under ideal conditions, each plant may produce several thousand seeds.
Seed bank: No information available.
Dispersal: No information available.
Integrated Management Summary
Eliminate seed production by cutting or pulling wild caraway plants before seed set. Herbicides should also be applied before seed set. Later in the season, cut seed heads to prevent seed from maturing. Try to minimize disturbance caused by these control measures; restore and maintain native vegetation in such areas.
References
GardenGuides. 1999. Herb guide, caraway (Carum carvi). gardener@interpath.com . Internet: 3/5/99. Available: http://www.gardenguides.com/herbs/caraway.htm
Rutledge, Chris R. and Dr. Terry McLendon. No Year. An Assessment of Exotic Plant Species of Rocky Mountain National Park. Department of Rangeland Ecosystem Science, Colorado State University. 97pp.
Whitson, T.D.(ed.), L.C. Burrill, S.A. Dewey, D.W. Cudney, B.E. Nelson, R.D. Lee, R. Parker. 1996. Wild caraway. Weeds of the West. Western Society of Weed Science, in cooperation with the Western United States Land Grant Universities Cooperative Extension Services, Newark CA. pg. 18.
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