Apium prostratum
| Apium prostratum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Apium prostratum (common name: sea celery)
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.
Cultivation: Prefers a rich moist soil with some shade in summer.
The crushed leaves smell strongly of celery[1].
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[2][1]. This plant has been suggested as having the potential to be bred as a cultivated vegetable[1].
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[1].
Edibility: Leaves - a salty taste, it is used as a flavouring in soups etc or as a garnish in a similar way to parsley[1]. The leaves can also be eaten raw but have a very strong flavour[1]. The stems can be blanched and used like celery[3], but they are small and fibrous so are not very worthwhile[1].
Root. No further details.
Seed - used as a flavouring in soups etc.
Usage: Used for pads to make canoes watertight.
Pollinators: Flies, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Skin contact with the sap is said to cause photo-sensitivity and/or dermatitis in some people[4].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Low, Tim. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1989.
- ↑ Allan, Harry. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer Publications, 1961.
- ↑ Ewart, Alfred. Recording Census of the Victorian Flora. 1923.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.