Apium graveolens

Apium graveolens is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It has a broad native distribution from Macaronesia in the west, through Europe as far as the western Himalayas, and through North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.

Wild Apium graveolens, known as wild celery or smallage, is used for flavoring food. The species was later used as a vegetable, particularly in Italy. Modern cultivars have been selected for their leaf stalks (celery), a large bulb-like hypocotyl (celeriac), or their leaves (leaf celery).

Description
Apium graveolens is a stout biennial plant, producing flowers and seeds only during its second year. It grows up to 1 m tall. Its stems are solid with grooves on the surface (sulcate). Its leaves are 1- to 2-pinnate with leaflets that are variously shaped, often rhomboid, up to 6 cm long and 4 cm broad. The flowers are produced in umbels, mostly with short peduncles, with four to twelve rays. Individual flowers are creamy-white, 2 – across. The fruit is broadly ovoid to globose, 1.5 – long and wide.

Taxonomy
The species Apium graveolens was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. A large number of varieties have been described, none of which are accepted by Plants of the World Online. Cultivars have been given either botanical variety names or names under the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. Thus cultivated celery may be called Apium graveolens var. dulce, or Apium graveolens Dulce Group.

Distribution and habitat
Apium graveolens is native from Macaronesia in the west, through Europe to the Caucasus and Central Asia, and as far as the western Himalayas, and through North Africa to West Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. It is widely naturalized outside this range, including in North and South America, Africa, India, China and South-east Asia. Cultivars may also be naturalized.

Wild celery is a plant of damp places, usually near the coast where the soil is salty. North of the Alps, wild celery is found only in the foothill zone on soils with some salt content.

Uses and cultivation
Wild celery was used for its medical properties and as a condiment by the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and also in China. The species was later developed as a vegetable, particularly in Italy from the 16th century. Modern cultivars have been selected for different uses, falling into three groups according to the part that is mainly eaten:
 * Celery, Apium graveolens Dulce Group or Apium graveolens var. dulce, is used for its leaf stalks, which may be eaten raw or cooked.
 * Celeriac, Apium graveolens Rapaceum Group or Apium graveolens var. rapaceum, is used for its swollen bulb-like hypocotyl.
 * Leaf celery, Apium graveolens Secalinum Group or Apium graveolens var. secalinum, has larger leaves; both the leaves and stems are eaten.