Celery

Celery leaves are pinnate to bipinnate with rhombic leaflets 3–6 centimetres (1–2+1⁄2 inches) long and 2–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) broad. The flowers are creamy-white, 2–3 mm (3⁄32–1⁄8 in) in diameter, and are produced in dense compound umbels. The seeds are broad ovoid to globose, 1.5–2 mm (1⁄16–5⁄64 in) long and wide. Modern cultivars have been selected for either solid petioles, leaf stalks, or a large hypocotyl.[3] A celery stalk readily separates into "strings" which are bundles of angular collenchyma cells exterior to the vascular bundles.[4]

Wild celery, Apium graveolens var. graveolens, grows to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall. Celery is a biennial plant that occurs around the globe. It produces flowers and seeds only during its second year. The first cultivation is thought to have happened in the Mediterranean region, where the natural habitats were salty and wet, or marshy soils near the coast where celery grew in agropyro-rumicion-plant communities.[5]

North of the Alps, wild celery is found only in the foothill zone on soils with some salt content. It prefers moist or wet, nutrient rich, muddy soils. It cannot be found in Austria and is increasingly rare in Germany.[6]

Cultivar	Image	Name	Part eaten
Celery		Apium graveolens var. dulce	Primarily grown for its thick stalk.[7]
Celeriac		Apium graveolens var. rapaceum	The hypocotyl is eaten like a root vegetable.[8]
Leaf celery		Apium graveolens var. secalinum	Primarily eaten for its large leaves.[9]

First attested and printed in English as "sellery" by John Evelyn in 1664,[10] the modern English word "celery" derives from the French céleri, in turn from Italian seleri, the plural of selero, which comes from Late Latin selinon,[11] the latinisation of the Ancient Greek: σέλινον, romanized: selinon, "celery".[12][13] The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek se-ri-no, written in Linear B syllabic script.[14]

Cross-section of a 'Pascal' celery rib, the petiole

Celery was described by Carl Linnaeus in Volume One of his Species Plantarum in 1753.[15]

The plants are raised from seed, sown either in a hot bed or in the open garden according to the season of the year, and, after one or two thinnings and transplantings, they are, on attaining a height of 15–20 cm (6–8 in), planted out in deep trenches for convenience of blanching, which is effected by earthing up to exclude light from the stems. Development of self-blanching varieties of celery, which do not need to be earthed up, dominate both the commercial and amateur market.[16]

Celery was first grown as a winter and early spring vegetable.[17] It was considered a cleansing tonic to counter the deficiencies of a winter diet based on salted meats without fresh vegetables.[17] By the 19th century, the season for celery in England had been extended, to last from the beginning of September to late in April.[18]

Asia

Leaf celery, also known as Chinese celery

Leaf celery (Chinese celery, Apium graveolens var. secalinum) is a cultivar from East Asia that grows in marshlands. Leaf celery has characteristically thin skin stalks and a stronger taste and smell compared to other cultivars. It is used as a flavoring in soups and sometimes pickled as a side dish.[22]

Celery tissue under 400x magnification of a light microscope

Harvesting occurs when the average size of celery in a field is marketable; due to extremely uniform crop growth, fields are harvested only once. The petioles and leaves are removed and harvested; celery is packed by size and quality (determined by color, shape, straightness and thickness of petiole, stalk and midrib length and absence of disease, cracks, splits, insect damage and rot). During commercial harvesting, celery is packaged into cartons which contain between 36 and 48 stalks and weigh up to 27 kg (60 lb).[26] Under optimal conditions, celery can be stored for up to seven weeks from 0–2 °C (32–36 °F). Inner stalks may continue growing if kept at temperatures above 0 °C (32 °F). Shelf life can be extended by packaging celery in anti-fogging, micro-perforated shrink wrap.[27] Freshly cut petioles of celery are prone to decay, which can be prevented or reduced through the use of sharp blades during processing, gentle handling, and proper sanitation.[28]

Celery stalk may be preserved through pickling by first removing the leaves, then boiling the stalks in water before finally adding vinegar, salt, and vegetable oil.[29]

Raw celery is 95% water, 3% carbohydrates, 0.7% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). A 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving provides 16 calories of food energy, and is a rich source of vitamin K, providing 28% of the Daily Value, with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).

Celery is among a small group of foods that may provoke allergic reactions; for people with celery allergy, exposure can cause potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.[40] Cases of allergic reaction to ingestion of celery root have also been reported in pollen-sensitive individuals resulting in gastrointestinal disorders and other symptoms, although in most cases, celery sensitivity is not considered clinically significant.[41] In the European Union and the United Kingdom, foods that contain or may contain celery, even in trace amounts, must be clearly marked.[42]

The Apium graveolens plant has an OPALS allergy scale rating of 4 out of 10, indicating moderate potential to cause allergic reactions, exacerbated by over-use of the same plant throughout a garden.[43] Celery has caused skin rashes and cross-reactions with carrots and ragweed.[43]

The main chemicals responsible for the aroma and taste of celery are butylphthalide and sedanolide.[44]

Selinunte didrachm coin bearing a selinon (celery) leaf, c. 515–470 BC

Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf[45] note that celery leaves and inflorescences were part of the garlands found in the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun (died 1323 BC), and celery mericarps dated to the seventh century BC were recovered in the Heraion of Samos. However, they note A. graveolens grows wild in these areas, it is hard to decide whether these remains represent wild or cultivated forms." Only by classical antiquity is it thought that celery was cultivated.[46]

M. Fragiska mentions an archeological find of celery dating to the 9th century BC, at Kastanas; however, the literary evidence for ancient Greece is far more abundant. In Homer's Iliad, the horses of the Myrmidons graze on wild celery that grows in the marshes of Troy, and in Odyssey, there is mention of the meadows of violet and wild celery surrounding Calypso's Cave.[47]

In the Capitulary of Charlemagne, compiled c. 800, apium appears, as does olisatum, or alexanders, among medicinal herbs and vegetables the Frankish emperor desired to see grown.[48] At some later point in medieval Europe, celery displaced alexanders.[49]

The name "celery" retraces the plant's route of successive adoption in European cooking, as the English "celery" (1664) is derived from the French céleri coming from the Lombard term, seleri, from the Latin selinon, borrowed from Greek.[50]

Celery's late arrival in the English kitchen is an end-product of the long tradition of seed selection needed to reduce the sap's bitterness and increase its sugars. By 1699, John Evelyn could recommend it in his Acetaria. A Discourse of Sallets: "Sellery, apium Italicum, (and of the Petroseline Family) was formerly a stranger with us (nor very long since in Italy) is a hot and more generous sort of Macedonian Persley or Smallage... and for its high and grateful Taste is ever plac'd in the middle of the Grand Sallet, at our Great Men's tables, and Praetors feasts, as the Grace of the whole Board".[51]

Celery makes a minor appearance in colonial American gardens; its culinary limitations are reflected in the observation by the author of A Treatise on Gardening, by a Citizen of Virginia that it is "one of the species of parsley".[52] Its first extended treatment in print was in Bernard M'Mahon's American Gardener's Calendar (1806).[53]

After the mid-19th century, continued selections for refined crisp texture and taste brought celery to American tables, where it was served in celery vases to be salted and eaten raw. Celery was so popular in the United States during the 19th century and early 20th century that the New York Public Library's historical menu archive shows that it was the third most popular dish in New York City menus during that time, behind only coffee and tea. In those days, celery cost more than caviar, as it was difficult to cultivate. There were also many varieties of celery back then that are no longer around because they are difficult to grow and do not ship well.[54]

Cultural depictions

Apium illustration from Barbarus Apuleius' Herbarium, c. 1400

A chthonian symbol among the ancient Greeks, celery was said to have sprouted from the blood of Kadmilos, father of the Cabeiri, chthonian divinities celebrated in Samothrace, Lemnos, and Thebes. The spicy odor and dark leaf color encouraged this association with the cult of death. In classical Greece, celery leaves were used as garlands for the dead, and the wreaths of the winners at the Isthmian Games were first made of celery before being replaced by crowns made of pine. According to Pliny the Elderin[55] Achaea, the garland worn by the winners of the sacred Nemean Games was also made of celery.[47] The Ancient Greek colony of Selinous (Ancient Greek: Σελινοῦς, Selinous), on Sicily, was named after wild parsley that grew abundantly there; Selinountian coins depicted a parsley leaf as the symbol of the city.

• Apium virus Y
• Celery mosaic virus
• Celery powder
• Celery vase
• Liriomyza trifolii – celery leaf miner
• Vallisneria americana – wild celery
• List of vegetables

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Celery and Apium graveolens.

Wikispecies has information related to Apium graveolens.

• "Celery" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911.
• Apium graveolens in Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA)
• Quality standards, from the USDA website