Daucus montanus Humb. & Bonpl. ex Spreng., Apiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Other Latin names:  Daucus australis Poepp. ex DC.; Daucus toriloides DC.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: wild carrot

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants sometimes annual but probably enduring often for more than one year, erect, sparsely or much branched, generally 50 cm high or less, sparsely or densely hispidulous; leaves mostly small, divided into very numerous, small, narrow, obtuse and apiculate segments; bracts of the involucre much divided and resembling leaves; umbels many-flowered, usually rather open, as much as 15 cm. broad but usually much smaller, the rays stiff, very unequal; bractlets of the involucels linear; pedicels in fruit usually conspicuously elongate and mostly 5-8 mm. long; fruit about 5 mm. long, with dense rows of stout pale spines along the winged angles, the spines barbate at the apex"  (Standley et al., Part VIII, Nos. 1-2; pp. 38-39).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guatemala (native), "moist or dry, often rocky, brushy or open fields and hillsides, sometimes in meadows in Alnus forest, in gravel along streams, or a weed in waste or cultivated ground, 1,000-3,000 meters, most frequent at middle or higher elevations. A rather common plant in meadows of the highlands, often plentiful in overgrazed areas, since no animals eat the foliage"  (Standley et al., Part VIII, Nos. 1-2; pp. 38-39).

Propagation:  Seed.  "The burlike fruits adhere closely to clothing and to the hair of animals, thus aiding in wide dispersal of the seeds"  (Standley et al., Part VIII, Nos. 1-2; pp. 38-39).

Native range:  Central and South America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 553)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Aisen, Antofagasta [n.], Coquimbo, Juan Fernandez, Los Lagos, Magallanes, Maule, Valparaiso
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O./Lundell, Cyrus Longworth (1966) (pp. 38-39)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Daucus montanus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Daucus montanus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Daucus montanus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O./Lundell, Cyrus Longworth. 1966. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part VIII, Nos. 1-2. Chicago Natural History Museum. 210 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.