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Sea Celery

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Sea Celery photos

Scientific Name: Apium prostratum
Sea Celery plant
Plant of Sea Celery
Photo: A J Brown

Status:
Native to all Australian States. Also found in New Zealand and South America.

Plant Description:
Prostrate and sprawling, multi-stemmed, biennial or perennial, with branches from
30-70 cm long. Pinnatisect (finely pinnate) leaves 2-40 cm long (longer at the base) and each segment 2-7 mm wide. Flowers in small clusters (or umbels) 3.5-7 cm wide, either without stalks or on short stalks to 20 mm long. Petals oval-shaped to 0.8-1.5 mm long
and white. Fruit obovate to circular, 1.3-2.5 mm long with 5 thick ribs to each segment, obscuring the furrows between the ribs. Flowering Spring-summer.

Habitat:
Found mostly on the edges of coastal saltmarsh and sea cliffs but sometimes extending along brackish inland creeks. Tolerates moderate salinity, provided soils are damp to waterlogged.
RegionSalinity ClassWaterlogging Class
*Western, *GippslandS0, S1, S2W2, W3
*mainly confined to coastal areas but also garden grown

Comments:
Similar to Annual Celery (Apium annuum) which is generally a smaller erect plant with branches to 20 cm long only, pinnate leaves to 5 cm long only and fruit with noticeable furrows between the ribs. Two varieties of Apium prostratum are recognised. Variety prostratum has long linear to lanceolate leaves or leaf segments, 6-15 times longer than wide. Variety filiforme has divided leaflets with elliptic, ovate or obovate segments, 2-3 times longer than wide.

Sea Celery Photos

Sea Celery leaves
Leaves of Sea Celery var. prostratum
Photo: A J Brown
Sea Celery leaves and stems
Stem, leaves and developing flower heads of Sea Celery var. prostratum
Photo: A J Brown

Flowers of Sea Celery
Flowers of Sea Celery
Photo: A J Brown

Yellowed mature leaves of Sea Celery
Yellowed mature leaves of Sea Celery var.

prostratum
Photo: A J Brown

Sea Celery var. filiforme
Leaves of Sea Celery var.

filiforme
Photo: A J Brown

Developing fruit of Sea Celery
Developing fruit of Sea Celery
Photo: A J Brown

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