Stats

Lifespan: Biennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Western Asia Europe North Africa
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

Caraway is a biennial herb in the carrot family native to Europe and western Asia, grown for its crescent-shaped seeds — technically dry fruits — prized since prehistoric times as one of the oldest cultivated spices in the world. The seeds' distinctive anise-like flavour comes from carvone, an essential oil also found in spearmint.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Carum
Species: Carum carvi