Carum carvi L., Caraway
Account Summary
Cultivated introduction, archaeophyte, rare, casual and locally extinct. Considered native in N, C & E Europe and much of boreo-temperate Asia, but widely naturalised and now disjunct circumpolar.
1900; Praeger, R.Ll.; Co Fermanagh.
Growth form and preferred habitats
Carum carvi is a glabrous, erect, much-branched, aromatic, biennial, 25-60 cm tall, with 2- to 3-pinnate leaves and a fusiform taproot. The umbels are small, 2-4 cm in diameter, rays 5-16, bracts and bracteoles absent or few. The flowers, produced in June and July, are white or pink and the fruit is 3-4 mm in diameter and ellipsoidal. The twin mericarps smell strongly of aniseed when crushed and have long been used for flavouring in cookery, including bread, cakes and liqueurs (Grieve 1931; Clapham et al. 1987).
In cultivation, C. carvi prefers warm, sunny locations and well-drained soils rich in organic matter. In warmer regions, it is treated as a winter annual, while in temperate situations it is planted as a summer annual or biennial.
The plant was introduced from Europe to garden cultivation in B & I some time prior to 1375 AD (Harvey 1981). It was in widespread kitchen use here for flavouring purposes for centuries, but this practice has declined to rarity in recent times (M. Southam, in: Preston et al. 2002). Caraway is still available and in regular culinary and other use, but it is imported from commercial growers mainly in the Netherlands, Poland and Germany.
Fermanagh occurrence
Only recorded once by Praeger as listed above. In his monumental book, Irish Topographical Botany, Praeger listed the VCs in which C. carvi did not occur and Fermanagh was not on his list. There is no other reference to this monocarpic species occurring in Fermanagh, either present or absent.
Irish occurrence
Throughout Ireland, Caraway has long been considered a rare casual introduction of disturbed ground, generally occurring in waste ground near houses and gardens where seed was accidentally introduced or escaped from garden cultivation (Cybele Hibernica 1866). During the 19th century and early 20th century, Caraway was a widespread casual in Ireland, recorded in 30 of the 40 Irish VCs. However, it was always occasional, never common, except possibly in parts of the NE of the island. In 1901, Praeger (Irish Topographical Botany) commented that it, "seems naturalised in [Cos] Armagh and Antrim".
By the 1950s, however, records of C. carvi were becoming very scarce or rare, even in those two VCs (FNEI 3). Reynolds (Cat Alien Pl Ir) listed only three post-1986 Irish records for the species, all of them from coastal counties in SE Ireland. Interestingly, the New Atlas map plots four widely spaced post-1986 hectads for Caraway in Ireland, only one of which might overlap with Reynold's listing.
The most likely origin of plants beyond cultivated plots would have been Caraway seed used in the kitchen as a culinary flavouring. Caraway bread, for example, was once very much more popular than it is today. The current author (RSF) remembers with nostalgic affection Brewster's 'seedy loaf' produced and sold by the long-gone Londonderry bakery of that name during his 1950s boyhood.
British status and occurrence
In her Modern Herbal, Grieve (1931) described C. carvi as a naturalised species in Britain and considered it an escape from cultivation. The third edition of the standard Flora of the British Isles of the time (Clapham, Tutin & Moore 1987) considered C. carvi, "perhaps native in some south-eastern counties and naturalised in waste places". The species was, "accepted, with reservations, as native" by Clement & Foster (1994) in their survey of Alien Plants of the British Isles and not dealt with further by them. Stace (1997) recognised Caraway as an introduction; the New Atlas first described it as an archaeophyte throughout B & I (ie a pre-1,500 AD introduction), a status further argued and confirmed by Preston et al. (2004).
C. carvi is widely distributed but rather uncommon throughout Britain, apparently being best naturalised in Shetland (VC 112) (New Atlas). The distribution displayed in the New Atlas hectad map suggests it is most frequent in the English southern Midlands, in areas of greatest population density. However, the species is much less commonly cultivated now than previously and in many occurrences the plant is a mere casual ruderal on waysides, waste places and rubbish tips, rather than truly naturalised (M. Southam, in: Preston et al. 2002).
European and world occurrence
C. carvi occurs throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia and NW Africa, but it is rare in the Mediterranean region (Tutin 1980). It is usually considered native in C, N & E Europe and large parts of Asia (including Turkey, Iran, N India and Siberia), but it has long been cultivated as a condiment both inside and outside the supposed native territory. Rather surprisingly, the main areas of cultivation are or were restricted to SE England (Essex, Kent and Suffolk), Holland, Germany, Finland, Norway, Russia and Morocco (Grieve 1931). In 2011, it was reckoned that Finland supplied around 28% of the world's caraway seed production, this high output reflecting the country's dry continental climate and its high latitude providing long summer days that favour the species' growth and reproduction.
Caraway also occurs as a rather common adventive introduction in the flora of many scattered parts of the world, including N America, Brazil, C & S Africa, Japan and New Zealand. As a result of its widespread introduction, numerous uses and subsequent naturalisation, C. carvi is now discontinuously circumpolar (Hultén & Fries 1986, Map 1414).
Uses
Caraway is another member of the aromatic umbelliferous plants characterised by carminative and stimulant properties, like Anise, Cumin, Dill and Fennel. In ancient times, caraway oil was recommended by Dioscorides to be taken by pale-faced girls. At one time in the past, it was used as a carminative cordial recommended for use in dyspepsia and for symptoms around hysteria. It has some tonic properties and was also used as a pleasant stomachic. It is nowadays grown, however, chiefly for the use of its fruits as a spicy flavouring agent in association with purgatives and for flatulence. Nowadays, it is much more used for flavouring in cookery, confectionary and liqueurs, rather than for any medicinal properties. (Grieve 1931).
Threats
None.