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Another possibility, http://consumerist.com/2010/05/11/if-youre-going-to-eat-a-ca...

Orange carrots might've also been an easy "ok, it's not hemlock, it's safe" indicator.

Hemlock doesn't have a large taproot like cultivated carrot, it's really not possible to confuse them (unless you're eating the leaves like your article suggests... I didn't even know carrots leaves were edible).

This is the main reason probably, yes. Several Apiaceae with white roots are poisonous in Europe.

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