According to Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica, the carrot is named carrot because it comes from the land of Hu and tastes like radish.

Carrot is native to the southwest of Asia, Afghanistan for the earliest evolutionary center, cultivation history in more than two thousand years. The tenth century AD introduced from Iran to the European continent, the fifteenth century in the United Kingdom, the development of the European ecotype, especially along the Mediterranean coast planted the most. Sixteenth century introduced to the United States.

About the thirteenth century, carrots were introduced from Iran to China, developed into the Chinese ecotype Chinese carrots to Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang, Yunnan and other provinces planted the most. Carrots were introduced from China to Japan in the sixteenth century and were called "ginseng".

Extension:

Carrots are a half-hardy vegetable, with different temperature requirements during the nutritive and reproductive growth periods. Seeds can sprout at 4 ~ 6 ℃, 8 ℃ when the start of growth; at 18 ~ 20 ℃ after 10 days or so to emerge. Seedlings can tolerate a short period of -3 ~ -4 ℃ low temperature, but also in the 27 ℃ above the high temperature conditions of normal growth.

Carrot germination optimal temperature is 20 ~ 25 ℃, the appropriate temperature of the leaf growth period, the daytime for 20 ~ 25 ℃, 15 ~ 18 ℃ at night; fleshy root expansion period, to 20 ~ 22 ℃ for the appropriate, 3 ℃ below the cessation of growth. Carrot seed roots can be planted when the soil temperature reaches 8~10℃.

The appropriate temperature for carrot flowering, pollination and seed setting is 22~28℃ during the day and 15~20℃ at night. Daytime temperatures over 35 ℃, that can not be pollinated seed.

Carrots like deep soil, loose soil, well-drained, high porosity sandy loam and loam. In poorly ventilated clay soil, the fleshy roots are light in color, more fibrous roots, easy to produce tumors, poor quality; in the low-lying poorly drained places, the fleshy roots are easy to rupture, often resulting in rot, and more forked roots.

Carrots have a wide range of adaptability to soil acidity and alkalinity, and can grow well in soils with a pH of 5-8, and grow poorly in soils with a pH of 5 or less.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Carrots