''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, ...

and the marshworts) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus '' Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plan ...

, 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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

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 are ...

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 sout ...

and Australia. They are medium to tall biennials or

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

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 a ...

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 domin ...

es, and have pinnate to bipinnate leaves 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'' 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 In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal ...

of the family Apiaceae and the order Apiales. Species include: *'' Apium annuum'' P.S.Short *'' Apium australe'' *'' Apium bermejoi'' *''

Apium fernandezianum ''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 ...

'' - 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 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 ...

'' L. - celery, wild celery *'' Apium inundatum'' - lesser marshwort *'' Apium insulare'' 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'' - fool's water cress *''

Apium prostratum ''Apium prostratum'', commonly known as sea celery, is a variable herb native to coastal Australia and New Zealand. The leaves are variable, with toothed leaflets, and a celery like aroma. The tiny white flowers occur in clusters. There are tw ...

'' 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. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including

angle shades The angle shades (''Phlogophora meticulosa'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is distributed throughout Europe as far east as the Urals and a ...

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 t ...

, ''

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 an ...

'', the nutmeg,

setaceous Hebrew character The setaceous Hebrew character (''Xestia c-nigrum'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in the Palearctic realm. It is a common specie ...

and

turnip moth ''Agrotis segetum'', sometimes known as the turnip moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. It is a common European species and it is found in Africa and across ...

References

External links

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