# Are there green carrots? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 1, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377 "2012-02-01T02:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/1 "2012-02-01T02:01:03Z")
Mrs Piper is planning the spring planting and asked the PiperCub what he wants to plant this year. His reply: “Green carrots”. On further inquiry, he elaborated: “Green carrots. From Mars.” I think the “from Mars” part clearly poses some problems, but I know carrots come in a variety of colours: orange, yellow and purple I’ve seen. But green? normally that means they’re not ripe. Are there fully grown, ripe, green carrots? If so, where do I get me some seeds? Follow-up question from Mrs Piper, looking over my shoulder: “are there any other unusual colours, like purple potatoes?” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/2 "2012-02-01T02:15:22Z")
Carrots come in many colors: [File:Carrots of many colors.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carrots_of_many_colors.jpg) green too: [http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg](http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/3 "2012-02-01T02:40:53Z")
Do the different colors have different nutritional content? -D/a ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/4 "2012-02-01T02:52:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Carrots come in many colors: [File:Carrots of many colors.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carrots_of_many_colors.jpg) > > green too: [http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg](http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg) Thank you. I thought I had seen green carrots before, but was beginning to wonder if it was just a dream. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/5 "2012-02-01T03:52:10Z")
I just had an orange, yellowish, green, and purple carrot mix in my salad. The nice thing is that, when you don’t know you take a bite and your tongue doesn’t match what your eyes see. Taste is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/6 "2012-02-01T04:29:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Carrots come in many colors: [File:Carrots of many colors.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carrots_of_many_colors.jpg) > > green too: [http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg](http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg) They look really unappetizing. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/7 "2012-02-01T07:17:26Z")
I can vouch for purple potatoes - I am having them for tea. (and I have grown purple: podded peas, carrots, lettuce, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, tomatoes and of course onions) Yes I have thing for purple. Basically if you look at heritage varieties lots of veges come in different colours and shapes than we are used to. I would suggest growing cauliflower romanesco : it is green and has a lovely outofthisworldly fractal shape. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/8 "2012-02-01T07:23:25Z")
Oh by the way - thanks for helping me to discover the World Carrot Museum: [http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html](http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history.html) ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/9 "2012-02-01T07:26:50Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > green too: [http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg](http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg) Now I know. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/10 "2012-02-01T08:06:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Carrots come in many colors: [File:Carrots of many colors.jpg - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carrots_of_many_colors.jpg) > > green too: [http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg](http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2011/07/256015,xcitefun-green-carrot.jpg) I’m almost certain the green roots in your second link are [radishes](http://www.chinesesouppot.com/2-common-ingredients/1111-chinese-green-radish), not carrots. I can’t actually find a single image of a truly green carrot variety. There are greenish-yellow ones, but all of the images of ‘green carrots’ I can find are of the Chinese ‘Green Carrot Radish’ ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/11 "2012-02-01T08:10:59Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’m almost certain the green roots in your second link are [radishes](http://www.chinesesouppot.com/2-common-ingredients/1111-chinese-green-radish), not carrots. And~ now I’m not certain. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/12 "2012-02-01T08:50:42Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > But green? normally that means they’re not ripe. Not for carrots, or pretty much root vegetables in general. Since they’re not fruit, there is no ripening, and baby carrots have the same taste and color as adult carrots. (Pensioner carrots are not as good though.) Green in most root vegetables means they’ve been exposed to sunlight, and often those bits taste nasty. And in some cases it means they’re poisonous. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/13 "2012-02-01T09:06:13Z")
> [@naita](#): > > And in some cases it means they’re poisonous. Not for carrots though. (although the green, light-exposed tops of carrots are often tough) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/14 "2012-02-01T09:13:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Not for carrots though. > > (although the green, light-exposed tops of carrots are often tough) Now I’m back to wondering if I ever saw green carrots or not. Carrot tops are good for iguanas, if you know any. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/15 "2012-02-01T09:24:28Z")
Carrot tops are good for rabbits too. the closest to a true green carrot I have found is: ‘Blanche a Collet Vert’ White & Green Carrot [Carrot Vegetable Seeds to buy in the UK from The Real Seed Catalogue](http://www.realseeds.co.uk/carrots.html) ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/16 "2012-02-01T09:32:14Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > Carrot tops are good for rabbits too. I suppose you would know.😃 Btw, what they show as green carrots are not very satisfyingly green; I think green carrots are pink elephants. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/17 "2012-02-01T10:03:24Z")
I managed to get some of my white carrots a nice half and half green - only because they were half out of the ground and sunlight had its effect. I might see if any are left n take a pic ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/18 "2012-02-01T10:16:21Z")
I suppose you could always get some of the green radishes and tell him they are from mars. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/19 "2012-02-01T10:33:01Z")
Root vegetables hardly ever come in green colors, because the green is from chlorophyll & sunlight, which doesn’t happen underground. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377/20 "2012-02-01T17:09:37Z")
I thought id seen an article somewhere suggesting that the translucent watery core of carrots acted as a sort of natural optical fibre, carrying light to underground parts of the root, but I can’t find anything ob the subject now. I don’t think it was for photosynthesis in the normal sense - might have been pert of some other photosensitive system. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-green-carrots/611377.md?page=2)