Celery

A stout biennial or monocarpic perennial herb growing up to 1–1.5 m, with a strong celery odour throughout. Stems are solid with conspicuous grooves. Leaves are bright green, 1- to 2-pinnate, with often rhomboid leaflets up to 6 cm long and 4 cm broad. Flowers form umbels, mostly with short peduncles and 4–12 rays; the individual flowers are creamy-white to greenish-white, 2–3 mm across. The fruit is a schizocarp, broadly ovoid to globose, 1–1.5 mm. It is the type species of the genus Apium, the family Apiaceae and the order Apiales.

Cultivated celery has three main forms: stalk celery (var. dulce), celeriac (var. rapaceum) and leaf celery (var. secalinum). In Vietnam, celery stir-fried with beef is a familiar dish, often served with Nam Vang noodle soup; the plant thrives in the cool season. It contains about 90.5% water plus vitamins A, B, C and P, choline, tyrosine, glutamic acid and the minerals Mg, Mn, Fe, I, Cu, K and Ca, and yields 2–3% essential oil on distillation. The roots and corm are used in folk medicine to support high blood pressure and as a diuretic for oedema.