''Apium'' (including

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...

and the marshworts) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of about 20

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the family Apiaceae, with a subcosmopolitan distribution in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. They are medium to tall

biennials A biennial plant is a flowering plant that, generally in a temperate climate, takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Life cycle In its first year, the biennal plant undergoes primary growth, during which its vegetative structures ...

or perennials growing up to 1 m high in the wet soil of

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es and

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

es, and have pinnate to bipinnate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

and small white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s in compound

umbel In botany, an umbel is an inflorescence that consists of a number of short flower stalks (called pedicels) that spread from a common point, somewhat like umbrella ribs. The word was coined in botanical usage in the 1590s, from Latin ''umbella'' "p ...

s. Some species are edible, notably ''Apium graveolens'', which includes the commercially important

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

celeriac Celeriac (''Apium graveolens'' var. ''rapaceum''), also called celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery (although it is not a close relative of the turnip), is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible stem or hypocotyl, and shoo ...

and Chinese celery. ''

Apium bermejoi ''Helosciadium bermejoi'', synonym ''Apium bermejoi'', is a critically endangered species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. Taxonomy It is not closely related to the wild form of celery, ''A. graveolens'', being more properly placed i ...

'' from the island of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

is one of the rarest plants in Europe, with fewer than 100 individuals left.IUCN Red List: . The genus is the type genus of the family Apiaceae and the order Apiales. Species include: *''

Apium annuum ''Apium annuum'' is one of the 20 species of the genus ''Apium'' of the family Apiaceae. It is an annual herb with a distribution in salt-marsh and saline habitats of Victoria, south and western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbre ...

'' P.S.Short *''

Apium australe ''Apium australe'' is a species of the genus ''Apium'' of the family Apiaceae. It is an perennial herb with a distribution in salt-marsh and saline habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and b ...

'' *''

'' *'' Apium fernandezianum'' - johow *''

Apium filiforme ''Apium'' (including celery and the marshworts) is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution, subcosmopolitan distribution in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia. They a ...

'' *'' Apium graveolens'' L. - celery, wild celery *''

Apium inundatum ''Apium'' (including celery and the marshworts) is a genus of about 20 species of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, with a subcosmopolitan distribution in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia. They are medium to tall bienni ...

'' - lesser marshwort *''

Apium insulare ''Apium insulare'', Flinders Island celery, or Island celery is a herb of the Bass Strait islands, and Lord Howe Island, Australia. It is a member of the Apiaceae (carrot family. It was first described by Philip Short Philip Short (born ...

'' P.S.Short - Flinder's Island celery *''

Apium leptophyllum ''Cyclospermum leptophyllum'' (also, ''Ciclospermum l.'') is a species of plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common names marsh parsley, slender celery and fir-leaved celery. This is a plant found worldwide at warm temperate to tropical la ...

'' - marsh parsley, or fir-leafed celery *''

Apium nodiflorum ''Helosciadium nodiflorum'' (synonym: ''Apium nodiflorum''), fool's watercress, is a flowering plant found in ditches or streams, as well as fresh and brackish-water wetlands native to western Europe. It is not poisonous to humans but it could be ...

'' - fool's water cress *'' Apium prostratum'' Vent. - sea celery *'' Apium repens'' - creeping marshwort ''Apium'' species, including garden celery, are eaten by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including angle shades,

common swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between th ...

, ''

Hypercompe icasia ''Hypercompe icasia'' is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is widely distributed in South America and is also found on Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Thomas and P ...

'', the nutmeg, setaceous Hebrew character and turnip moth. ApiumInundatum3

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
Apiaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Apiaceae-stub