The famously orange vegetable rich in vitamin A is the carrot.
Carrots are the cultivated subspecies Daucus carota subsp. sativus, a root vegetable in the Apiaceae family. Their familiar orange color comes mainly from beta-carotene, a pigment that the human body can convert into vitamin A. Vitamin A supports normal vision, immune function, and other biological processes.
Carrots were domesticated in Central Asia, probably in the region of modern Iran and Afghanistan. Early cultivated forms were often purple or yellow, and people initially valued the plant for its aromatic leaves and seeds as well as its root. Orange Western cultivars emerged in the Netherlands during the 16th or 17th century, although the popular claim that they were developed solely to honor the Dutch House of Orange is not strongly documented.
The familiar “carrots help you see in the dark” story is exaggerated. Vitamin A deficiency can impair vision, but eating extra carrots does not create exceptional night vision. The wartime British story was also linked to radar secrecy rather than a miraculous nutritional effect.