
Carrot
The first cultivated carrots had branching purple roots and are believed to have been developed in Afghanistan. They migrated to the Mediterranean in the 14th century and then northwards, with some evidence of a few red varieties around that time period.
Today’s orange carrots were developed by Dutch breeders in the 17th century. Many of today's loved orange heirloom varieties were developed by the French seed company Vilmorin-Andrieux starting in the 1850s, such as Nantes and the Chantenay varieties.