There are two good things about this time of winter. Even if you don't actually detect it, you can at least pretend to perceive the days growing longer. Secondly, most of the new seed catalogues should now have arrived, and nothing kindles warmer thoughts for gardeners on dark evenings than a hot cup of cocoa and a leisurely browse through the seed catalogues.
Most catalogues devote at least a page to carrots.
Often the carrot page offers a baffling array of types and cultivars. Classification of the carrot itself is a somewhat confusing issue. Centuries ago, a wild variety of Queen Anne's lace was found in Afghanistan with a thickened sweet-tasting root. As a natural variety of Queen Anne's lace, the carrot was named Daucus carota variety sativus. In rare cases, a carrot may revert back to wild type.