| Menu list goes here |
Herbal Database Search Results
Back
to: Pathways Main Search
Page For Metaphysical uses
visit The Witchs Haven
Apium graveolens
| Common name: |
Wild Celery |
Family: |
Umbelliferae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
If the plant is infected with the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, skin contact with the sap can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[65]. This is more likely to happen to Caucasians[218]. |
| Range: |
Central and southern Europe, including Britain, to temperate areas of Africa and Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Ditches, by rivers and in other damp locations, especially near the sea in salt marshes[9, 17, 100]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Apio [E], Apit Bord [E], Celeri [E], Celeri Des Jardins [E], Celeri Marron [E], Celery [E,H], Ch'In [E], Ch'In Ts'Ai [E], Han Ch'In [E], Karawez [E], Kereviz [E], Krafus [E], Rabano [E], Selderij [D], Smallage [H], Wild Celery [H,B,P,L], Wood Marche [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
graveolens = strong smelling;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Belgium; Britain; China; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Haiti; India; Iraq; Mexico; Philippines; Spain(Balearic I); Turkey; Us(Nm)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: . |
Physical Characteristics
Biennial growing to 0.6m by 0.25m . It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies.
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland).
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Condiment; Leaves; Root; Seed.
Leaves - raw or cooked[52, 105]. Mainly used as a flavouring in soups
etc[5, 7, 9, 46]. They can be eaten raw but have a very strong flavour[52].
They are toxic if consumed in large amounts[238].
Seed - a flavouring. Used in small quantities to flavour soups and
stews[238]. An essential oil from the seed is also used as a flavouring[46,
105].
Root - cooked[74].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Aperient; Carminative; Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Galactogogue; Nervine; Stimulant; Tonic.
Wild celery has a long history of medicinal and food use. it is an
aromatic bitter tonic herb that reduces blood pressure, relieves indigestion,
stimulates the uterus and is anti-inflammatory[238].
The ripe seeds, herb and root are aperient, carminative, diuretic,
emmenagogue, galactogogue, nervine, stimulant and tonic[4, 7, 21, 165]. Wild
celery is said to be useful in cases of hysteria, promoting restfulness and
sleep and diffusing through the system a mild sustaining influence[4]. The
herb should not be prescribed for pregnant women[238]. Seeds purchased for
cultivation purposes are often dressed with a fungicide, they should not be
used for medicinal purposes[238].
The root is harvested in the autumn and can be used fresh or dried[238]. The
whole plant is harvested when fruiting and is usually liquidized to extract
the juice[238]. The seeds are harvested as they ripen and are dried for later
use[238].
An essential oil obtained from the plant has a calming effect on the central
nervous system. Some of its constituents have antispasmodic, sedative and
anticonvulsant actions. It has been shown to be of value in treating high
blood pressure[254].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the herb[9]. It is used in treating
rheumatism and kidney complaints[9]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Essential.
The growing plant is an insect repellent, it repels the cabbage white
butterfly so is a good companion for brassicas[20].
Cultivation details
Prefers a rich moist soil in sun or semi-shade[238], but with some
shade in the summer[52]. It is tolerant of saline soils[238].
The plants are fairly hardy, though they can be damaged by hard frosts[238].
Wild celery is the parent of the cultivated celery (A. graveolens dulce) as
well as celery leaf (A. graveolens secalinum) and celeriac (A. graveolens
rapaceum). This entry only deals with the wild celery, the other plants are
dealt with separately.
A very aromatic plant, the aroma being most noticeable when the foliage is
bruised. The growing plant is a good companion for leeks, tomatoes, French
beans and brassicas[18].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. If seed is in short supply it can
be sown in a cold frame in spring. The seed can harbour certain diseases of
celery, it is usually treated by seed companies before being sold but if you
save your own seed you should make sure that only seed from healthy plants is
used[1].
Scent
-
Plant: Crushed
- The seeds and the crushed leaves smell strongly of celery.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for apium graveolens (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.
[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.
[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.
[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
Readers Comments
Apium graveolens
WAYNE A. SIEGERT
(WSIE273425@AOL.COM)
Mon Mar 31 14:22:00 2003
WHERE CAN I BUY WILD CELERY FOR PLANTING IN MY DUCK PONDS
ALSO INTERESTED IN "POND PEPPER" FOR WILD FOWL PLANTINGS
THANKS
WAYNE SIEGERT
Back to: Pathways Home page,
Main Search Page
Help
Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Apium+graveolens
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Apium+graveolens
|
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if
you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.
|
|
