D. Carota: annual or biennial; stem 1-3 feet high; leaves twice or thrice pinnate, with deeply three-lobed or pinnatifid, lanceolate or linear segments; umbels terminal, large, with numerous crowded rays, the inner ones very short, the outer much longer, and closing over after flowering; bracts of both involucres usually divided into 3-5 long linear lobes; fruit covered with prickles. - Fields, pastures, and waste places, especially near the sea. Fl. June, July.

Var. maritimus: leaves somewhat fleshy with shorter segments; umbels more spreading, and prickles more flattened. - Sea coasts.