Leaf
Liliane Roubaudi, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Celery
Apium graveolens L.
Also known as: Wild celery, Smallage
Family: Apiaceae
30 to 80 cm tall
Grown in vegetable gardens; wild form on coasts and in salty damp places
Flowering: July – September
Full sun
Fairly hardy, tolerates light frosts
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Celeriac, stalk celery and leaf celery are all the same species, selected to emphasise either the root, the fleshy petioles or the aromatic leaves.
🍃 Leaves
Divided, glossy, very aromatic, with broad fleshy petioles in stalk celery
🌸 Flowers
Small, greenish white, grouped in umbels
🍎 Fruits
Small, ribbed, oval achene, very aromatic (used as a spice, celery seed)
🪵 Bark
Hollow, ribbed herbaceous stem; fleshy petioles in stalk celery, swollen root in celeriac
🗺️ Distribution
Wild form on Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts; widely cultivated throughout France
🐝 Value for pollinators
Nectar-rich umbels, visited by many pollinating insects
✂️ Horticultural uses
Vegetable-garden crop available in several forms: stalk celery (petioles), celeriac (swollen root), leaf celery (aromatic)
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity in culinary use; may cause skin photosensitivity in some people handling the sap in full sun
🌿 Other Apiaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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