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Apium prostratum

Common name:	Sea Celery	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	Labill.	Botanical references:	265
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Skin contact with the sap is said to cause photo-sensitivity and/or dermatitis in some people[218].
Range:	Australia - New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria.
Habitat:	Coastal headlands and dunes, margins of brackish swamps and saline stretches of river banks[193].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Allium prostratum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Prostrate Marshwort [B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	prostratum = prostrate rostratum = hooked
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. . 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 0/5 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

Leaves Root Seed.

Leaves - a salty taste, it is used as a flavouring in soups etc or as a garnish in a similar way to parsley[193]. The leaves can also be eaten raw but have a very strong flavour[193]. The stems can be blanched and used like celery[154], but they are small and fibrous so are not very worthwhile[193].
Root. No further details.
Seed - used as a flavouring in soups etc.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Waterproofing.

Used for pads to make canoes watertight.

Cultivation details

Prefers a rich moist soil with some shade in summer.
The crushed leaves smell strongly of celery[193].
This plant used to be known as A. australe, along with a New Zealand form and a S. American form. Most botanists now only apply that name to the S. American form, the New Zealand form has been moved to A. filiforme (syn A, prostratum filiforme) whilst this Australian form is now known as A. prostratum[44, 193]. This plant has been suggested as having the potential to be bred as a cultivated vegetable[193].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. Germination can be a bit slow, taking a month or more. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: 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

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Allium prostratum (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[44] Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961
The standard work, in 3 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[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.

[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.

[265] Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. Flora of the Sydney Region Reed. Australia. 1993 ISBN 0730104001
Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.

Readers Comments

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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+prostratum
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.