Apium prostratum

Sea celery
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Apium
Species:	A. prostratum
Binomial name
Apium prostratum Labill.exVent.

Apium prostratum,commonly known assea celery,is a variableherbnative to coastalAustraliaandNew Zealand.The leaves are variable, with toothed leaflets, and a celery like aroma. The tiny white flowers occur in clusters.

There are two varieties:

• Apium prostratumvar.filiforme–headland sea celery,squat with broad leaves (2-3 times longer than wide)and grows on coastal dunes and headlands.
• Apium prostratumvar.prostratum–mangrove sea celery,upright with fine leaves (6-15 times longer than wide) and grows in swamps.

ThesubspeciesApium prostratumsubsp.howenseis endemic toLord Howe Island.

Apium prostratumvar.filiforme(Headland Sea Celery) flowers and foliage on coastal hillside at Wainui,Banks Peninsula.

Uses

Commonly eaten by Maori in New Zealand, for whom it is known as Tutae Koau, sea celery was also an important vegetable for early explorers and colonists in Australia and New Zealand.Captain Cookate sea celery atBotany Bayand gathered it in bulk along withLepidium oleraceumatPoverty BayinNew Zealandin October 1769 to protect his crew fromscurvy.It was commonly eaten by colonists as a survival food in the early days of theSydneycolony.

Both leaf and stem are eaten. Dried leaves are used in native Australianspicemixes. It tastes much the same as celery and is used to flavoursoups.Varietyfiliformeis considered to be more palatable.

It was cultivated by colonists aroundAlbany,Western Australia,as a vegetable.It is commercially cultivated to a limited extent.

External Links

• "Apium prostratumLabill. ex Vent. — Sea Celery ".Atlas of Living Australia.